Two Bradley County constables – one-person, elected law enforcement agencies that don’t have regular government salaries or funding – traveled to at least four cities in three states outside Tennessee on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a wider reach than was previously known, internal records show.
Tim Fowler and Daren Brantley traveled to Charlotte, Greensboro and Winston Salem in North Carolina; Greenville, South Carolina; and Huntsville to check in on children previously released from federal custody and with whom the government had lost contact, emails between Fowler and ICE officials show.
The federal agreement the constables signed says they are authorized to perform certain federal immigration enforcement actions “under the direction and supervision of ICE within the LEA’s (law enforcement agency’s) jurisdiction,” which, under Tennessee law, is limited to their home county.
For each home visit, the constables are eligible for a $2,500 stipend – $500 for submitting information and $2,000 for the site visit and address verification, the emails show. In March and early April this year, the constables located 198 children, according to Fowler’s emails.
If each of those visits resulted in the approved stipend, that would mean they received $495,000 from ICE. That’s in contrast to their regular constable duties, which do not offer a salary.