Shelby County Joins 287(g) Program To Assist ICE

November 10, 2025
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287(g), 287(g) immigration enforcement program, 287(g) Program, Deportation, Floyd Bonner, ICE, Illegal Aliens, illegal immigrants, Jail Enforcement Model, Memphis, Shelby County, Shelby County Jail, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Tennessee, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Image Credit: Shelby County Sheriff’s Office / Facebook

Tennessee Conservative News Staff –

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office will now be working alongside ICE to enforce immigration laws in Memphis, making Shelby County the 28^th county in Tennessee to join the 287(g) program.

According to Sheriff Floyd Bonner, an agreement was made with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to allow illegal immigrants to be held at the Shelby County Jail. Additionally, deputies will also serve warrants in immigration cases.

This prong of the 287(g) program, known as the Jail Enforcement Model (JEM), is designed to allow certified officers to identify and process removable aliens in jails/correction facilities, place an immigration detainer and initiate removal proceedings, then ensure seamless custodial transfer to ICE upon release.

The JEM model minimizes the risk of an alien absconding or reoffending by preventing them from being returned to the community or public life but instead turned over to ICE for deportation once they’ve served their sentences.

This contract comes, though, just as Bonner also told WREG that overcrowding at the 201 Poplar location of the Shelby County Jail has led to 300 current inmates being rehoused at other West and Middle Tennessee facilities.

“We finally worked it out with the state where they would take 300 of our pre-trial inmates,” Bonner said. “Our problem is and this is what many people don’t realize, we are a pre-trial facility, so we can’t put pre-trial inmates with convicted inmates. That’s been a problem over the last few weeks about moving prisoners to various locations.”

Another 150 inmates are being moved to another Shelby County location.

With the implementation of the Memphis Safe Task Force, arrests have increased significantly, leading to the additional problem with overcrowding.

Most of the ICE arrests made by the task force have not added to the Shelby County Jail population, however, The majority of those individuals have been placed at the newly reopened CoreCivic facility in Mason.

ICE Detention Facility Opens In Former West Tennessee Prison

CoreCivic, based out of Brentwood, is a private prison operation. The company has seen a significant revenue increase through the last six months, and this is expected to continue as more law enforcement agencies reach agreements with ICE.