A Republican nominee for Bradley County constable who is running unopposed in the Aug. 6 general election and won’t be sworn in until September signed an agreement to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in May. The federal agency now says it’s terminating the contract.
Johnny Stokes, who is retiring as chief of police for the city of Charleston, Tennessee, signed a task force model agreement with ICE on May 21, just over two weeks after he won an unopposed race in the May 5 primary. The agreement authorizes local officers to perform some immigration enforcement actions and can lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in reimbursements, incentives and stipends.
“Unless you have taken an oath of office and you hold that office, in my opinion, you cannot bind it contractually,” said Melissa Ashburn, a legal consultant at the Municipal Technical Advisory Service, who was speaking in general terms about elected officials, not Stokes or constables specifically.
In response to a list of detailed questions from the Chattanooga Times Free Press about Stokes’ agreement with ICE under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, an ICE public affairs officer, Melissa Egan, said the contract would be canceled.
“The New Orleans Field Office will discuss this further with Mr. Stokes directly,” Egan said in an emailed statement. “When a law enforcement agency, including a constable, has taken office, we encourage them to start the process to partner with ICE through the 287(g) program.”