An advisory council overseeing Davidson County’s new immigration enforcement program met today without attorney Elliot Ozment. The outspoken immigrant activist crossed Sheriff Daron Hall one too many times.
The final straw came last week when Ozment appeared on the television show ‘¿Qué pasa, Nashville?’ and said the sheriff had not listened to any of his recommendations for the 287-G program. Ozment has been critical of 287-G since it was adopted locally in 2006. It allows the sheriff, who controls the jails in Nashville, to send any illegal immigrants who have been arrested to an immigration court. Many are then deported.
Hall says he originally gave Ozment a seat at the table because of his knowledge of immigration law. He has always opposed the sheriff’s program, but Hall says his comments began to undercut law enforcement’s relationship with the immigrant community.
“For him to get public, very public, about it and say that he’s not being listened to, I wouldn’t want to be a member of an advisory council if I really felt that way. And if he feels that way, as I said in my letter, I see no need in him being involved with the advisory council.”
An issue for all of the community activists who sit on the council is the threshold for what crimes trigger an immigration check. The sheriff reviews everyone who is physically arrested. Immigrant advocates believe that snags too many low-level offenses. Nearly a quarter of the individuals deported in the first year did nothing more than drive without a license or any other form of identification.
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