PUTNAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) -- Tennessee has its first county creating a task force with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office signed an agreement this week that allows deputies to make immigration arrests on their streets. The county was already working on behalf of ICE in its jail. 

Known as a 287(g) agreement, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office is officially the second law enforcement agency in the state to partner with ICE in this capacity, joining the Tennessee Highway Patrol. 

There are three different models local law enforcement can agree to with ICE: warrant services, jail enforcement, and a task force. 

The task force model is the most controversial of the three and was ended by former President Barack Obama in 2012 over racial profiling concerns. This year, President Donald Trump brought it back as, essentially, a localized extension of ICE. 

“What can this look like? There may not be even ICE, but again, they’re acting on information that ICE gave them, but they’re acting [on] it through their lens,” said Terry Olsen, an immigration attorney in Tennessee. 

Olsen has been working immigration law since 2002. He has concerns over how this model of enforcement will look.

“How is it that a police officer, who is trained maybe up to 40 hours online [by ICE], is actually well-trained to apprehend and also detain and arrest and understand immigration law?” Olsen asked. “Usually, [ICE] officers were at the border for a year or two. They were also law enforcement officers for years. They had lots of training.” 

Olsen’s unease for this task force program comes from what he’s heard and read, but also from personal experience. 

“I was actually detained [at my daughter’s school] by an officer because they said that I fit a profile of someone that they had read in that area that caused a threat, but they would not tell me why,” Olsen detailed. “When you have a certain group of people who are not U.S. citizens, who don’t have due process, there is even less concern from officers about how they would treat them.” 

With his background in handling immigration cases, Olsen could not provide a benefit for these task forces.

Overall, Tennessee now has a dozen counties that have partnered with ICE in some capacity. Gov. Bill Lee has pledged support and incentives for local authorities who assist ICE. 

ICE has reported roughly 700 total 287(g) agreements with law enforcement agencies nationwide. Florida has mandated all of its law enforcement participate. 

News 2 contacted the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office for comment on Friday, June 27. As of publication, we have yet to hear back.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/putnam-county-becomes-first-tennessee-county-to-join-ice-task-force/