Image Credit: Sevier County Sheriff’s Office / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office has announced that they will be partnering with ICE in an effort to enforce immigration policies.
In an announcement on Thursday morning, SCSO announced their plan to join the 287(g) program, administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
They will work alongside ICE in the same manner that several other Tennessee counties do, including Knox, Cumberland, Grainger, and Morgan Counties.
Under this program, law enforcement officials are granted limited authority to enforce immigration policies on illegal aliens who are arrested for other crimes.
According to the department, SCSO had already been working with ICE by sending in lists of names of individuals who had been arrested for other crimes and were unable to prove their legal status in the country.
“Based on this collaboration, numerous illegal immigrants, who have been charged/arrested in Sevier County, have been apprehended with our direct assistance,” SCSO wrote.
Sheriff Michael R. Hodges, Jr., stated that he proposed the official partnership with ICE.
“To claim that I or this office does not support Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) is completely false,” Hodges said. “Every available action to strengthen our role in this mission has been taken to this point, and we will continue to do so. The safety and welfare of our citizens and visitors alike is our top priority, and that includes all, strong, lawful enforcement through proper federal partnerships.”
“Like most Americans, we believe in following legal immigration paths, with respect to our laws, period,” said Hodges.
One Response
Good!