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Tennessee Conservative News Staff –
Additional law enforcement agencies in Tennessee are now partnering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), bringing the total to more than 40 agencies in only six months.
The partnerships come through the federal 287(g) program. According to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, 40 counties are enrolled in the program including newer additions: Putnam, Rutherford, Sumner, McMinn, and Cumberland.
Robertson, Coffee, and Trousdale Counties are among those who recently joined the program. To date, Davidson County is not participating.
The 287(g) program allows local law enforcement agencies to collaborate with ICE in enforcing federal immigration law. The program operates under three models:
- Jail Enforcement Model, where local officers work with ICE to process immigration cases when individuals are already in jail.
- Task Force Model, which allows officers to arrest migrants encountered in the community and transfer them to detention.
- Warrant Service Officer Model, where officers serve ICE arrest warrants.
In Middle Tennessee, Monroe and Putnam counties use both the Jail Enforcement and Task Force models.
New state legislation created the Immigration Enforcement Grant Program, which provides financial grants to local governments that join the 287(g) program. Grant funds are intended to assist with the enforcement, detention, and removal of undocumented immigrants.
The expansion of the program comes alongside a new state law designed to encourage participation. The legislation created the The state has allocated $5 million for the grants, which are
“President Trump has made it clear that we’re going to get illegal immigrants out of our communities,” said State Senator Jack Johnson, a co-sponsor of the new law. “We created a Central Immigration Enforcement Officer to work with our local law enforcement officials, the Department of Safety, and the TBI.”
The grant program will be administered by Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division (CIED) Chief Ryan Hubbard. Participating local governments are required to submit quarterly reports to the CIED until all grant funds are spent and must provide detailed accounting of how the money is used when requested.
