Revising 287g in Nashville Passes First Hurdle

The program Davidson County uses to deport undocumented immigrants arrested in Nashville passed its first hurdle to continuing.

A Metro council committee unanimously approved federal revisions to the program known as 287g on Monday night.

The program is back in the hands of Metro Council because the Obama administration tweaked a portion of the program related to how information is released. But that change wasn’t the focus of Monday’s committee meeting. Instead, it was the program itself and whether or not racial profiling occurs. A local lawyer, David Esquovel, said the program has left many in the Hispanic community afraid to leave home.

“I am concerned about the way that this program has forced thousands of our neighbors to live in fear of a minor traffic stop or any sort of interaction with the police which drives them further into the shadows of our society.”

Sheriff Daron Hall says the only way his department checks immigration status is if there’s been an arrest by Metro Police.

“We’ve seen no factual data to support that there is any systemic profiling by the police department.”

On Tuesday night, the entire Metro Council will decide whether 287g stays or goes.