U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has dramatically expanded its partnerships with local law enforcement agencies across Tennessee, producing more than 1,300 arrests of illegal foreign nationals since January 20, 2025. The effort is built around the federal 287(g) program, which authorizes state and local officers to carry out certain immigration functions under ICE supervision.
Tennessee agencies have submitted 136 applications for 287(g) partnerships, covering three models: the Jail Enforcement Model, the Task Force Model and the Warrant Service Officer model. As of September 15, 55 of those applications remained pending, according to ICE data. Tennessee law now requires all sheriffs’ offices to enter into a 287(g) agreement by January 1, 2027.
How the 287(g) Models Work
The Jail Enforcement Model trains officers to identify and process removable foreign nationals already held in local jails, while the Warrant Service Officer model authorizes them to serve administrative warrants on criminal foreign nationals in custody. The Task Force Model goes further, allowing officers to enforce limited immigration authority during routine duties, such as identifying someone at a DUI checkpoint and sharing information directly with ICE.
Congress created the 287(g) program through the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1996. Under previous administrations, only the Jail Enforcement Model was widely used. The Trump administration has pushed agencies to participate in all three models, significantly broadening the scope of local immigration enforcement. You can read more about ICE 287(g) expansion in Tennessee and how recent arrests unfolded under the new partnerships.
Violent Criminals Arrested, Including Repeat Offenders
Among those arrested through 287(g) partnerships was a Honduran national apprehended near the Tennessee-Alabama state line after the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office became an operational partner last month. He carried two felony convictions for sexual battery in Franklin, Tennessee, and was subsequently deported after being transferred to ICE custody.
Other arrests include a previously deported Mexican national convicted of sexual battery, a Honduran national wanted in his home country for a 2016 billiard hall shooting massacre, a Honduran convicted of aggravated assault who had been deported five times before, and an Indian national convicted of drug trafficking who had also been previously deported.
“287(g) is a critical public safety initiative that gives law enforcement agencies another tool to protect their communities,” said Russell Hott, assistant director of ICE’s Public Safety Partnership Division. 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.
Nationwide Rollout and What Comes Next
Scott Ladwig, acting field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in New Orleans, said the Tennessee expansion reflects a broader national commitment. “Partnerships like these are essential to public safety,” he said. The continued expansion of 287(g) in Tennessee demonstrates the commitment of ICE and our law enforcement partners to remove dangerous criminal aliens from our communities.
ICE officials recently attended the Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association Conference to discuss further expansion of the program. Nationally, ICE has signed 2,510 memorandums of agreement for 287(g) partnerships across 39 states and two U.S. territories as of September 15. With Tennessee’s 2027 deadline approaching and 55 applications still pending in the state, the number of active partnerships is expected to continue growing in the months ahead.
