Image Credit: sumnersheriff.com
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
Sumner County has now joined 5 other Tennessee counties in partnering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be more proactive on the issue of illegal immigration across the state.
As of April 29th, the Sumner County Sheriff’s Department signed onto the 287(g) ICE enforcement program which allows local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE by doing things like serving civil immigration warrants and utilizing jail enforcement.
Giles, Greene, Hamilton, Knox and Putnam Counties all previously joined this effort in one form or another.
Greene County and Knox County signed onto the program back in June of 2020 and remained the sole 287(g) participants in Tennessee until earlier this year.
Putnam County signed on in February and Hamilton signed on in March. Both Giles and Sumner officially signed on in April.
“Why would we not do this if we’re doing our due diligence and the people of Hamilton County expect me to do this?” Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett said in an interview with The Tennessee Conservative.
The sheriff’s departments in Knox, Greene, Hamilton and Putnam Counties are currently part of the 287(g) program’s jail enforcement model (JEM).
This model allows local law enforcement to work on identifying illegal immigrants already in custody and initiate immigration proceedings for ICE instead of having to wait on ICE.
Giles County, and now Sumner County, are participating in the 287(g) program’s warrant service officer model (WSO).
Under this model local officials are able to serve illegal immigrants already in jail with civil immigration warrants.
“By entering into the Warrant Service Officer (WSO) model of the program, we will be able to more efficiently and lawfully process these individuals – ensuring that those who pose a threat to public safety are not released back into the community,” Sumner County Sheriff Eric Craddock stated in a recent email.
According to Craddock, Sumner County is not receiving any state grants or financial benefits for participating in the program but will pursue any grants available to his county in the future.
While ICE does provide training to local law enforcement agencies who choose to sign onto the 287(g) program, no financial incentives are currently offered.
There is speculation however, that financial incentives could be created on a state level under Tennessee’s new immigration enforcement division, headed up by new immigration czar Ryan Hubbard.
As of May 8th, 2025, a total of 531 agencies across 38 states have signed onto the 287(g) program. According to ICE, there are an additional 105 pending applications for the program.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
