Thread: Davidson County sheriff signs agreement

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Wednesday, 01/31/07

Davidson County sheriff signs agreement to enforce immigration laws

By BILL THEOBALD
Tennessean Washington Bureau


WASHINGTON — Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall signed an agreement with federal immigration officials today that allows his deputies to check the immigration status of people in the county jail and begin deportation proceedings for those in the country illegally.

The signing occurred at a meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Julie Myers that was hosted by Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and Reps. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood.

The agreement would make Nashville one of fewer than a dozen communities in the country where local law enforcement officials are given the authority to carry out federal immigration laws, Alexander said.

"Illegal immigrants who break the law will find they have done it in the wrong county," Alexander said after the meeting.

Alexander said the agreement also provides for training of sheriff's deputies by federal immigration officials, access to the Homeland Security databases, and reimbursement from the department if illegal immigrants are held in the county jail during deportation proceedings.

Sheriff's officials announced earlier this month they had been approved to participate in the program but the agreement formalizes that arrangement.

Some advocates said at the time that giving sheriff's deputies federal law enforcement power would make immigrants in Nashville afraid of law enforcement.

The new jail program has yet to get official approval from the Metro Council or city officials, but informally all have given the sheriff a heads up, said Rick Gentry, director of community outreach for the Davidson County Sheriff's Department.

"He's spoken to several council members and the mayor and they've all pretty much given him an informal nod," Gentry said today.

All that's left to be done, he said, is for the sheriff to sign a memorandum of understanding with the city's director of finance, director of insurance and an official with the Department of Law. Then the Metro Council must pass a resolution in favor of the program.

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index ... s_id=54403

Immigration pact signed; training to begin in March
By Jared Allen, jallen@nashvillecitypaper.com
February 01, 2007

Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall on Wednesday praised Nashville’s representatives in Congress for delivering on their promise to make Nashville’s participation in a federal immigration enforcement program a reality.

At a meeting hosted by Sen. Lamar Alexander in Washington, D.C., Hall was presented with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Julie Myers.

Myers’ signature on the document was needed before federal immigration officials could begin training a dozen sheriff’s deputies in using a federal database to screen every foreign-born person arrested in Nashville for immigration violations.

Hall said that in addition to the signed MOU – which still must be agreed to by the Metro Council before 287(g) screening can officially begin – Myers also told the sheriff that his department’s training will begin Saturday, March 3.

“I was impressed,” Hall said of Myers. “She came to the meeting with a date certain for training. She came with information. And she personally has been very responsive.”

But Hall said he has been most impressed with the Nashville congressional delegation, which he said was responsible for coordinating with Myers to turn his desire for immigration powers into a reality.

“Congressman [Jim] Cooper’s office, for sure, and Sen. Alexander’s office really helped,” Hall said.

In an interview following the meeting, Alexander praised both Hall and Myers for working toward the goal of making sure immigration laws are fully enforced.

“Nashville is now the wrong place for an illegal immigrant to break the law,” Alexander said.

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Another great sheriff!

http://wkrn.com/nashville/news/immigrat ... /78971.htm

[February 21, 2007, 11:37 am]

"Immigration Database Gains Approval"
The Metro Council has given the green light for the Davidson County Sheriff’s Department to check if inmates are illegal immigrants.

Specially trained sheriff's deputies will now have access to a federal government database.

If an inmate is found to be in the country illegally, the sheriff's department will be able to work with immigration officials to start the deportation process.

Nashville Sheriff Daron Hall has been a major factor in the implementation of the program called 287g.

Last fall, deputies traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to see the system in action. Jailers in Mecklenburg County admitted they have experienced growing pains. Mecklenburg County Sgt. Quinn Stansell said, “With any new program that starts from the ground up, you’re going to run into issues.”

Activists in Nashville still worry about an over-reaching crackdown, and a negative impact on crime reporting.

Immigration attorney Charla Haas said, “I think it’s going to damage relationships with the community… have chilling affect… I think it’s going to end up causing more crime to go unreported.”

Sheriff Hall insists people not considered to be risk to the community will not be detained. Still, he hopes to strikea balance between a suspect's rights and the public’s demand.

Now that the program has been approved, the department expects to begin the five to seven weeks of training next week.

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Tuesday, 02/27/07

Davidson County officers receive immigration training


Ten Davidson County sheriff's deputies began a four-week training course Tuesday that will allow them to interview foreign nationals in county jails to determine their immigration status.

The course, run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will enable the trained officers to conduct interviews with inmates to see if they have violated immigration laws, the ICE office said.


If the officers find cause to deport anyone, they will complete the necessary paperwork to begin deportation proceedings.

Similar programs are being conducted with 10 other police departments across the country, including agencies in Alabama, Florida and North Carolina, ICE spokesperson Temple Black said.

More than 200 officers have been trained in the program, which has made 3,327 arrests since Oct. 1, 2006.

In the 12-month period between Oct. 1, 2005 and Sept. 30, 2006, the program resulted in 6,043 arrests, the ICE office said.