Bradley County skipped again for immigration program

A federal program that gives state and local officers the ability to enforce immigration law continues to grow, but it still hasn't been authorized for Bradley County.

"We tried to apply for the 287(g) a long time ago, and we received a notice (in August) that we were not accepted into program," said Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble, whose office applied in 2007 to be part of the program.

But from the attempts to receive training for 287(g), the sheriff's office got into the Criminal Alien Program, where officers try to verify the legal status of everyone arrested in Bradley County. An arrested person found to be in the country illegally is turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after serving any county sentence imposed by a court.

ICE workers help local law enforcement determine the best programs to fit a community's needs, spokeswoman Nicole Navas said. They also look at the local criminal illegal immigrant population to determine if 287(g) is needed, she said.

"In Bradley County, the needs of identifying criminal aliens that are a threat to public safety are being met through ICE's Criminal Alien Program," she added.

Federal officials recently announced 287(g) agreements with 67 local and state law enforcement agencies, one more than last year. The agreements put a priority on deporting illegal immigrants who commit other crimes, according to a news release.

Seven law enforcement agencies in Tennessee and Georgia participate in the program, including the Whitfield County Sheriff's Office.

Many immigrant and civil rights groups say the program leads to racial profiling and separates families.

Some are worried that immigrants may be arrested for minor offenses as a guise to initiate deportation proceedings.

To address those concerns, the new agreement "requires participating local law enforcement agencies to pursue all criminal charges that originally caused the offender to be taken into custody," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in the release.

Sheriff Gobble said even though his office didn't get into 287(g), the Criminal Alien Program has worked well.

"We feel we are making some progress in the illegal immigration area," he said. "We are very active in trying to identify those who are here illegally and commit other crimes; we don't want to be a sanctuary county for illegal immigration."

PDF: 287(g) release and list

WHAT IS 287(g)?

* An agreement between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and state and local law enforcement agencies to perform immigration functions

* Designated officers trained under the supervision of sworn U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are permitted to enforce immigration law

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

287(g) CLOSER TO HOME:

Tennessee

* Tennessee Highway Patrol/Department of Public Safety

* Davidson County Sheriff's Office

Georgia

* Cobb County Sheriff's Office

* Georgia Department of Public Safety

* Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office

* Hall County Sheriff's Office

* Whitfield County Sheriff's Office

Note: Agreements awaiting approval

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement