A constable elected to serve in Tennessee travels far and wide, to North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and elsewhere on assignment for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but his jurisdiction stops at the Bradley County limits.
How does that work?
The Chattanooga Times Free Press has been documenting how constables, who hold an elected office with no budget or salary, have signed up as law enforcement partners to federal immigration officials, making them eligible for significant levels of compensation.
ICE has said that the constables carry the full weight of immigration authorities when they are on assignment and earning stipends. But ICE’s own website and its agreements with the constables offer a more nuanced scenario.