Resident urges Sumner County to demand transparency on sheriff’s 287(g) agreement

Richard Primrose, a resident who signed up for public comment, told the Sumner County Board of Commissioners that he submitted a petition raising concerns about a 287(g) agreement between the sheriff’s office and federal immigration authorities.

"By the next month, the petition had reached nearly 700 signatures," Primrose said, and he urged the board to "limit this partnership before we bury our budget and lawsuits." He told commissioners that petitioners had received no formal clarification from the sheriff's office about what the agreement entails or what outcomes the county has realized from it.

The petition and public concern prompted questions from commissioners and the chair. One commissioner asked whether the sheriff's department had formally signed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying he could not determine transparency from the contract language alone. "I don't know if our sheriff's department has signed with ICE," the chair said.

A second commissioner confirmed the county "does participate in 287(g)," and said operational questions about how the program is run should be answered by Sheriff Craddock because the sheriff is an elected official with autonomy over department operations. "As far as the mechanics of that and how Sheriff Craddock operates it, I would defer to maybe having him appear to explain that," the commissioner said.

Because the concern was raised during an open-floor item rather than as a scheduled agenda item, commissioners said they could not take formal action immediately. The chair and others said the topic should be placed on a future agenda and the sheriff invited to explain the agreement to the board and the public.

The board did not take a formal vote on the 287(g) matter at the meeting. The petition's organizers and commissioners indicated the issue will return to a future meeting for additional public review and explanation.