U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Wednesday that it had partnered with 120 law enforcement agencies in Tennessee as of September 9, suggesting the Volunteer State could represent about about 5 percent of the 2,466 total 287(g) agreements signed nationwide.
Following the agency’s announcement it was “strengthening cooperation” with 120 local partners in Tennessee as part of the expansion of its 287(g) program, The Tennessee Star reviewed the latest information regarding by ICE, revealing a total of 139 law enforcement agencies in Tennessee had entered one of the three models by September 15.
The most common form of 287(g) agreement signed in Tennessee is the Warrant Service Officer (WSO) model, with 75 agencies having signed such an agreement. The WSO model authorizes local officers to receive training that allows them to serve and execute ICE civil or administrative warrants against illegal aliens already in their custody.
Second most common is the Task Force Model (TFM), with 52 Tennessee law enforcement agencies having signed an agreement under this model. Offering the broadest immigration powers for local immigration officers, the TFM model gives authorized local police limited federal authority during ordinary policing, or when participating in an ICE-led task force.
Just nine Tennessee law enforcement agencies are participating in the Jail Enforcement Model (JEM), which authorizes local jail personnel to be trained to investigate immigration status and identify inmates who may be removable.
Other law Tennessee agencies that have entered into a 287(g) agreement include the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, which includes the Tennessee Highway Patrol, as well as police departments in Coopertown, Estill Springs, Gainesboro, Gallatin, Greenbrier, Hendersonville, Jellico, Lawrenceburg, Mosheim, New Hope, Sevierville and Sparta.
As a result the increased cooperation, ICE said that more than 1,300 illegal aliens have been arrested by state or local police who have entered into 287(g) agreements since President Donald Trump began his second term on January 20, 2025. It reported that law enforcement in Tennessee reported an additional 542 encounters with illegal aliens already in their custody.
Earlier this year, Governor Bill Lee notably signed a law requiring Tennessee sheriffs offices to enter into some form of 287(g) agreement, but the review of ICE data by The Star indicates 11 sheriffs were not listed.
These include the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, Cannon County Sheriff’s Office, Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, Gibson County Sheriff’s Office, Hardeman County Sheriff’s Office, Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Maury County Sheriff’s Office, and Scott County Sheriff’s Office.
However, Tennessee’s law applies only to agencies whose sheriff has met the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) commission. Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall is not POST-certified, and Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) is the law enforcement agency in the Nashville area charged with normal policing.
This leaves 10 counties who could face a total withholding of all state funding if they do not formalize their agreement by January 1, 2027.
Russell Hott (pictured here), the Assistant Director for the ICE Public Safety Partnership Division, called 287(g) agreements a “critical” tool to protect American communities on Wednesday.
“By working closely with sheriffs, chiefs and our state partners across Tennessee, law enforcement is able to apprehend criminal illegal aliens who continue to prey on and victimize local communities and remove those threats from our neighborhoods,” stated Hott.
ICE cited the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) arrest of a convicted sex criminal on the same day it became an operational 287(g) partner as an example of the program’s use.
“Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office became an operational 287(g) partner and arrested Reniery Garcia-Godoy, a criminal illegal alien from Honduras, on the first day of the partnership,” the agency revealed. “Garcia-Godoy, who was taken into custody near the Tennessee-Alabama state line, had two felony convictions for sexual battery in Franklin, Tennessee, and has since been removed from the U.S.”
A state report released in January revealed that more than 11,000 illegal aliens were charged or convicted of a crime in Tennessee last year. More recently, more than 120 illegal aliens were arrested during an ICE operation at a Memphis nightclub last month.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
