Image Credit: Greene County TN Sheriff’s Dept / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
With a bill requiring participation by every Tennessee Sheriff’s department in the federal 287(g) immigration enforcement program set to become law soon, one county Sheriff’s office is sharing what other departments can expect, and the positive impact they believe the program has had in the community.
Jail Administrator for the Greene County Sheriff’s Office John Key said they have been a part of the 287(g) program for about six years and joined because they saw it as a benefit to the community.
“We signed into a memorandum of understanding with them. We’re not into enforcement. We’re into just checking the people once they are arrested on other charges,” Key said. “If they go through part of our booking process and part of our booking process is, ‘where were you born?’ and if they say anything other than the United States, then it triggers us to run a secondary check of them through the immigration and customs enforcement system.”
“It’s getting rid of people that are here illegally,” he continued. “We’re not out looking for them. But if they break the law and then we find out that they’re illegal, then they should no longer be allowed citizenship to enter the country.”
“So, we let the immigration process do their thing and, if there is a need for them to be deported, then they take care of that,” Key added. “Once somebody is determined to be illegal and the immigration and customs enforcement unit has determined that they want a detainer on them, they have 48 hours to get them out of our custody when they’re done with their charges here in the area.”
He also noted that while Greene County doesn’t see a huge number of illegal aliens process through, the impact of the program is still noticeable.
“It just gets more people off the street,” Key said. “I mean, it makes a safer neighborhood. If they’re breaking laws, then you shouldn’t be here. If you’re doing it the right way, then we have no problems. We have maybe 1 or 2 a month, if that. For the most part, we don’t have a big rate of exposure or a big rate of finding people that’s here in the area.”
Key also extolled the level of involvement and support ICE offers once a department enters the program and reiterated the positive results experienced through it.
“Once you joined the program, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency actually trains, cross-trains some of our officers; they actually take them to their training,” Key said. “They do a lot of online training now, but we actually sent officers to South Carolina, to Charleston, to their academy, where they spent a month learning about immigration, the laws, what they can do, what they can’t do, and how to enforce the process. That was totally at no cost to the county.”
“They [ICE] are great to partner with,” Key said. “They come in, they provide the equipment, they provide their own unique workstations, and they provide us all the support we need.”
“It will just result in safer communities,” he summarized. “If someone’s here against the guidelines of the United States, then they need to atone for that and do it the right way.”
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.
