Tennessee lawmakers have voted to mandate local law enforcement agencies across the state to partner with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement as part of a push to aid the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.
The measure is part of a legislative package from U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller and would require sheriff’s offices and police departments to sign a formal agreement with ICE under the 287(g) program, which deputizes local officers to act as ICE agents. HB2219 / SB2223 has a built-in expiration date after two years, from when it takes effect January 2027 to February 2029.
Last year, the legislature began offering millions of dollars in incentives for local law enforcement to work with ICE. Since then, roughly half of Tennessee’s 95 counties have signed onto 287(g). Only two counties were enrolled before the governor’s 2025 omnibus immigration law.
The program is expected to cost local governments $1.2 million per year in training and personnel costs, according to state estimates.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, said the cost shouldn’t be a problem. Of the $5 million the legislature set aside in incentives for the program, Johnson said only $160,000 has been used so far because participants also get money from the federal government to help with immigration enforcement.
“There’s roughly $4.8 million left,” Johnson said, arguing Tennessee should take advantage of the Trump administration’s position on immigration.
“We have an occupant in the White House who is actually doing something about the scourge of illegal immigration and securing the border,” Johnson said.
Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, argued that a forced partnership could cost local governments in other ways. He pointed to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, which ended its agreement with ICE after a woman spent several hours in labor while shackled in its jail under the program. The city agreed to a $490,000 settlement.
“That ended up being a significant financial expenditure for the city,” Yarbro said. “The cities and counties are the ones who are open to that liability, not us.”
Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, said that the deaths of civilians in Minneapolis at the hands of ICE agents could’ve been prevented if there was an existing 287(g) agreement to hold detainees on behalf of ICE.
“We saw what happened in Minneapolis with that tragedy because the police didn’t hold them,” Taylor said. “They put them back out in the community where ICE had to endanger the community again to apprehend a second time.”
Immigrant advocates have warned that the legislation will discourage immigrants from reporting a crime, even if they have legal status.
“These collaborations erode community trust,” said Cesar Bautista with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. “When our neighbors and loved ones are afraid to report crime and abuse all of us end up less safe.”
The Tennessee Sheriff’s Association testified that they were neutral on the bill, which now heads to the governor’s desk for his signature.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM