Nashville-Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall announced this week that his office will no longer contract to house Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees — apparently because he no longer wishes to deal with the politics of it.
Hall, a Democrat, announced this in a press release this week.
The new policy goes into effect on December 1. Hall decided this after he met with local advocacy groups, Mayor John Cooper, Metro council members, and what the press release described as internal stakeholders.
“The continued confusion and hyper-political nature of this issue has become a distraction from sheriff’s office priorities,” the press release quoted Hall as saying.
“The number of individuals detained as a result of this contract is less than one percent of overall jail bookings; however, I spend an inordinate amount of my time debating its validity.”
Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Karla West told The Tennessee Star in an email Wednesday that members of that office want to address what they describe as more pressing issues.
“It is time to move on and bring focus to issues, such as mental health, which impacts 30 percent of the population,” West said.
“Truth is, there are people on the extreme right of this subject and extreme left (hyper-political) and neither wants to listen to the facts if it doesn’t support their beliefs. The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office has been dealing with this subject for 15 years, and we have overestimated people’s interest in the facts,” she added.
According to Hall’s press release, since 1996, the Metro government, not the DCSO, has received revenue from a council-approved contract to house various federal detainees including ICE.
The sheriff’s office is currently in negotiations with the United States Marshal Service to remove ICE from that contract. The DCSO, under a renewed council-approved agreement, will continue to house individuals who are in USMS custody, according to the press release.
West said her office did not benefit much from the arrangement.
“The number of people we are talking about is, on average, 16 people per month that resulted in less than $1,500 per month in revenue to Metro Government,” she said. “It’s important to point out we are not housing ICE detainees anymore. We are still following state law and honoring detainers and warrants. ICE detention officers will know when someone is being released and will be given an opportunity to pick the detainee up prior to being released from jail.”
In his press release, Hall said he will limit DCSO’s future ICE interactions to those required by state law.
The Star asked U.S. Marshals for comment, but we had yet to hear from them before Wednesday night.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
[…] want city officials to no longer cooperate with ICE. Nashville-Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall recently announced his office will no longer contract to house ICE detainees under an agreement with the US. […]
Fire the jerk! He is not protecting the people of Tennessee.
[…] The Tennessee Star reported earlier this week, Nashville-Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall announced his office will no longer […]
So the Criminal Illegal Aliens and their advocacy groups who advocate for ILLEGALS got their say and to give input. Did the LEGAL, LAW ABIDING DAVIDSON CO RESIDENTS who PAY this guy’s salary get input? NO–he saw a way to cowtow to the CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIEN LOBBYISTS and DID.
And NOW the ILLEGALS and their ADVOCATES are holding a party tomorrow night (Friday). Hope ICE is reading the news.
So now he is going to RELEASE 16 CRIMINALS a month on the Residents of Davidson Co and wants to be APPLAUDED for that? One of them harms me or mine and Davidson Co and Hall will have a lawsuit on their hands.
HOPEFULLY Mayor Cooper will chime in on this and reinstate. If not, proves his rescinding of Briley’s Exec Order was nothing more than to keep the State $$ flowing.
I am FURIOUS–everyone who is PROILLEGAL got a voice and input–WE DIDNT. How is that right?
Daron Hall has shown himself to be just like other Democrats. He cares more about serving lawbreakers than the citizens he is supposed to be serving. Have to wonder how he would react to one of his family being killed by an illegal… Illegals commit felonies at rates of 500% over US citizens. Over 26% of Federal prisoners are non-US citizens. Talk about a solution to easing prison overcrowding.
I don’t agree with the Left, but I admire their ruthless treatment of political leaders who cave to them.
If we’re not going to work with ICE then we shouldn’t work with the IRS either.
Thank goodness this man has come to his senses. There are so many people that need America’s help. Why do we want to lock them up when we could be passing that money to them to help them better themselves. Hooray to the good Sheriff!!
Good for Davidson County’s sheriff! He shows that many law enforcement officials are still decent and hard-working.
I can’t say the same for I.C.E. and their ilk. Many of these I.C.E. officials are a bunch of thugs and predators who think nothing of abusing and molesting immigrant children and their families in their care! Where are all the so-called Family Values rightists with their supposed concern for children’s welfare against predators when news about callous neglect and abuse by I.C.E., the Marshals, and D.E.A. occur? How would these conservatives feel if I.C.E. mistook THEIR children for undocumented aliens and started mistreating them the same way that they do to people from Central/South America? I’ll tell what they’d do! They would suddenly start yelling bloody murder–Not with MY child, as the saying goes.
Victims’ rights and law ‘n’ order?
I bet!
Do you have first hand experience/knowledge of your claims against ICE? I think not. I think you are a victim of media sensationalism, media bias and the lies perpetrated on the American public by a select elected group of miscreants. I’m praying for you.
Why have you selected ICE as the only Law Enforcement Organization that you will not cooperate with?
How about less whining and more “doing” as in cooperating with your “brothers” in the law enforcement community.
Maybe it’s time to go another direction with a Sheriff that is more interested in helping maintain law & order & less interested in his political affiliation.
According to the National Conference of State Legislators, a common method to remove an elected official from office is to use a recall election.
Maybe it’s time!
Pnssy. What happened to protecting the law-abiding people?
Amen!