Yellowstone County commissioners are offering the use of MetraPark to detain illegal immigrants caught in the region following President Trump's orders to increase deportations.In a letter dated Thursday, Jan. 23, signed by Commission Chair Mark Morse, commissioners noted that the Yellowstone County Detention Facility is over capacity and likely could not handle a large increase of inmates, nor could other jails in the area.Morse told MTN News he spoke with the other two commissioners, John Ostlund and Mike Waters, before drafting the letter himself.MetraPark is 189 acres, with an arena containing a large commercial kitchen, an expo center and a pavilion, commissioners wrote, some of which could be repurposed to house inmates. The three-member board of commissioners, all Republicans, said they support Trump's hard stance at the border, noting that violence and drug trafficking in Montana can be traced to the southern border.In recent years, the county has spent millions to upgrade the facility, using federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act, commissioners noted. MetraPark is a large event center that can be used in cases of natural disaster as a shelter or for other emergencies.Among a flurry of announcements in the first few days of his term, President Trump announced planned mass deportations of illegal immigrants and declared a national emergency at the southern border. He also plans to send 1,500 troops to the border to help with enforcement. The commissioners' letter was addressed to all four members of Montana's congressional delegation, all Republicans: Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, and Reps. Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing.Zinke praised the move on social media."Round em up! Send em home. Montana stands ready to execute the Presidents directive and remove the criminal illegal aliens from our communities and send them back home to their countries of origin. I applaud Yellowstone County Commissioners for their creative solution to help with the effort. Youre serving the people who elected you and the American people at large," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.This is a developing story. Check back for details.Here's the full text of the letter: Senator Daines,The Yellowstone County Commissioners support President Trumps emergency declaration regarding the crisis at the Southern Border and his labeling of the drug cartels as terrorist organizations. The open border issue has directly impacted Montana and Yellowstone County with violence, illegal drug distribution, and human trafficking operations. Unfortunately, the Yellowstone County Detention Facility, a regional facility for South Central Montana, is currently overcapacity impacting its ability to detain more than a few criminal immigrants that might result from President Trumps actions. Likewise, most regional detention facilities in Montana are at or over capacity.Yellowstone County owns and operates MetraPark. MetraPark is a 189-acre facility which includes a separate arena, an expo center, and a pavilion. The expo center is approximately 77,400 square feet. The pavilion is 28,800 square feet. The arena holds a large commercial kitchen. Both the expo center and pavilion have bathrooms. There is no comparable facility to the Metra Park within a 400+ range.Over the last several years, Yellowstone County has spent millions of dollars to upgrade utilities, facilities, security, lighting, connectivity, and hardtop at MetraPark. ARPA funds were used for many of these upgrades and improvements, as MetraPark was considered a large event center to be used in cases of natural disasters as an emergency shelter and gathering place. MetraPark is 10 minutes from Billings Logan International Airport and approximately 220 miles from Malmstrom Air Force Base.I would respectfully ask that if federal government agencies need space to detain criminal illegal immigrants within Yellowstone County or this region and want to consider the use of MetraPark facilities, that the governments request be presented to the Yellowstone County Commissioners for consideration. We want to help.Thanks to all of you for your commitment to serving America.Sincerely,Mark MorseYellowstone County Commissioner, Chair