MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — Twenty people signed up to speak at the Rutherford County Commission meeting Thursday after a recent 287(g) agreement between the sheriff’s office and federal immigration officials.

Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh said his recent commitment only has to do with warrants and those who enter his jail. He added that it's something his department has been practicing since the '90s.

“If they come to my facility, they have committed the crime in Rutherford County, and they come to my attention at that point,” Fitzhugh said at the recent public safety meeting. “If they are foreign born, then we contact federal officials to see if they are on a detainer from the federal government; that's it. If there is, that detainer is served, and then it's up to ICE on what they want to do with it.... As long as I am sheriff, I am not going to have our people going out and enforcing immigration law.”

Rutherford County District 1 Commissioner Hope Oliver said she was glad the commission extended the public comment time on Thursday and heard residents’ concerns.

“Absolutely, I encourage the sheriff to reconsider,” Oliver told News 2. “That's not anything that we need in our county or in our state for that matter.”

Even though Rutherford County’s agreement is only supposed to pertain to warrants, Oliver said she had overarching concerns with Rutherford County working with ICE.

“It's masked individuals; you don't know who they are. And they're attacking persons that are just going about their day-to-day lives, whether it's going to work, going to school, you have children afraid that their parents aren't going to be there when they get home,” she added.

Immigration rights advocates also voiced concerns with the agreement.

“All three models of 287(g), at the end of the day, what they do is that they do the job of ice in our backyard, in our community," Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition government relations manager Luis Mata said. "It further entangles our local law enforcement officers and agencies with the federal immigration enforcement tactics that we have seen operate in a cruel, inhumane way that is riddled with a culture of violence, lack of accountability, and transparency."

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/rutherford-county-residents-speak-out-against-ice-mou/