Bristol County Sheriff Furious Over Decision To Close Immigrant Detention Facility

BOSTON (CBS) - Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson is furious over the Department of Homeland Security's decision to end the county's ICE contract to detain immigrants.

The detention center in Dartmouth has been accused of overcrowding and inhumane conditions. It was also the subject of a scathing report from Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.

Sheriff Hodgson called the decision to close the facility a "political hit job".

"She made public charges against my people, who are amongst the best in this nation, accused them of a crime," Hodgson said Friday. "She said they violated these peoples' civil rights. It's been a year now attorney general, where are the charges?"

Attorney General Maura Healey told WBZ it was her job to file the report, not pursue charges.

"I think he should be ashamed of himself for making this a political issue," Healey said. "Here it was just so clear based on the evidence that Sheriff Hodgson is not up to the task of housing immigration detainees and will not be doing so going forward."

The seven immigrants currently detained will be moved to another facility.