Prominent arrests shine spotlight on 287(g) program

Nate Rau, nrau@nashvillecitypaper.com
Posted: Monday, July 28, 2008 1:36 am

Prominent arrests shine spotlight on 287(g) program | 287(g), Manuel Garcia Delgado, Tom Davis, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Stephen Fotopulos, Juana Villegas DeLaPaz, Tim Coleman

Instructions on a jail phone in Spanish are hardly a welcome sight for non-English speaking detainees, but it is a sign of the times for the city and its illegal immigrant population. Matthew Williams/The City Paper
One was a woman on the brink of giving birth to her fourth American child. The other was an ex-convict with over 20 arrests for various burglaries, gun possession and drug-related charges.

Both were arrested by local police officers this month for misdemeanor crimes that usually lead only to citations. Instead, both were taken to the county jail, where the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office discovered they were illegal immigrants through the implementation of a program called 287(g).

Initiated in April of last year, the 287(g) program allows the sheriff’s office to check an individual’s immigration status once they are brought to county lock-up.

Now, both individuals are facing deportation. In the meantime, advocates for and against the much-debated 287(g) program are ratcheting up their rhetoric.

287(g) Poster Child

Manuel Garcia Delgado was arrested by Metro Police on a misdemeanor trespassing charge earlier this month. When he was taken into sheriff’s office custody, it was discovered he had a shockingly long list of convictions.

Among them were charges for gun possession, burglary and several drug-related crimes. In addition, Delgado, an illegal immigrant, had been deported five times already.

Tom Davis, the director of immigration enforcement for the Sheriff’s Office, said Delgado is the “poster childâ€