More Than 500 Illegal Aliens Arrested In Hamilton County In 2025

Image Credit: Austin Garrett Sheriff / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –

According to data released by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) earlier in the week, 513 individuals with illegal or unknown immigration status were arrested last year, with most of the detainees hailing from Guatemala and Mexico.

Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett entered his department into the ICE 287(g) program in the spring of 2025 under the Jail Enforcement Model (JEM), allowing the law enforcement agency to identify and process individuals with criminal or pending criminal charges who have been arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies and lack U.S. citizenship. 

A few months later, HCSO announced Sheriff Garrett was going to start providing the public with monthly updates on data related to illegal immigrant arrestees, and in September, the HCSO data showed that the number of illegal immigrants arrested by local law enforcement jumped 57% between July and August of 2025.

For November and December of 2025, a total of 87 individuals were arrested by HCSO were released to ICE for federal immigration proceedings.

Per the released data, the largest three charge categories were traffic violations, license/registration issues, and drunk driving. And while the bulk of arrestees were found to be from Guatemala and Mexico, numerous other regions are listed including Latin America, South America, Africa, and Southeastern Asia.

The Sheriff’s Office said the citizenship-related arrest data was compiled from multiple law enforcement agencies across the county whose arrestees were then booked into the Hamilton County Jail. These agencies include the Chattanooga Police Department which was reported back in October to have the most arrests in the county for people later found to have unauthorized or unknown citizenship status. 

All the information about the detainees is reported monthly to the District Attorney General’s Conference in Nashville.

Sheriff Garrett, who is seeking reelection in 2026, has been a vocal supporter of immigration enforcement efforts and outspoken on his responsibilities to the members of his community to properly enforce the laws and keep his county safe.

 “It’s a crime to come into this country illegally, a lot of people have kind of dismissed that. It is a crime to be in this country illegally, so I think that’s important to recognize. Now, as Sheriff, I also understand there’s people coming here for the American Dream, they’re coming here for a better way of life, but we also have people coming here to create a nightmare,” he said in a previous interview with The Tennessee Conservative.

“As your Sheriff… this county elected me to keep you safe, to be proactive in keeping you safe, and to lead the way in all areas of public safety, whether it’s immigration, whether it’s a street gang, or whether it’s any other kind of crime that’s happening or trending.”

As a whole, Tennessee has transferred more people from its jails into ICE custody in recent months than almost any other state, in no small part due to the ever-growing number of Tennessee law enforcement agencies entering into 287(g) agreements.

Currently, there are 40 counties across the state participating in the federal immigration program under one of its three models.

About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.