The Washington County Commission approved a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that will allow the county to take part in the federal government’s Section 287(g) program.
This federal law enforcement program allows the federal government to enter into agreements with local and state law enforcement so they “can perform certain functions of an immigration officer,” the MOA states.
Washington County Sheriff Keith Sexton told the commission on Monday that the county will be part of the Section 287(g) Warrant Service Officer program, which “allows ICE to train, certify and authorize state and local law enforcement officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on aliens in their agency’s jail.”
The MOA between the Northwestern Tennessee county and ICE is to “promote public safety by facilitating the custodial transfer of specific aliens in LEA jail/correctional facilities to ICE for removal purposes at the time of the alien’s scheduled release from criminal custody.”
According to the authorized functions of the MOA, participating law enforcement personnel will “serve and execute warrants of arrest for immigration violations.” These individuals can be held for only 48 hours under the terms of the agreement.
Washington County will also be able to “detain and transport” arrested aliens to “ICE-approved detention facilities.”
The agreement between the county and ICE takes effect immediately and mandates the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to select candidates to participate in the program.
Sexton told the commission that the agreement was “geared towards removing criminal aliens from our communities.”
He called this agreement “minimal investment, maximal impact, [and] no need for dedicated staff or facilities.”
Sexton said the county averages between 15 and 20 illegal immigrants in its jail per month.
Regarding concerns about how this will impact the community, law enforcement will not be “hunting people down,” Sexton noted.
He added that this agreement is “done in the interest of keeping our community safe.”
In Tennessee, almost 30 counties are a part of ICE’s 287(g) program, and another six counties have pending applications to join it.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.
