Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office joins forces with ICE

County law officers soon to work as immigration enforcement task force under 287(g) program; will receive funding
 
The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office is now in training to assist with immigration related crimes after joining the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s, (ICE) 287(g) program.
The sheriff’s office is one of a handful of agencies in the area that have decided to join up with the program to assist federal agencies and earn money toward a new vehicle.
The 287 (g) program is an initiative that delegates state and local law enforcement agencies the authority to perform the functions of an immigration officer in hopes of removing illegal immigrants from the country. Agencies can assist with this in one of three models: the jail enforcement model, the task force model, and the warrant service officer model. The Lawrence County Sheriff’s office is participating under the task force model, which “serves as a force multiplier for law enforcement agencies to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties,” according to ICE.gov.
By participating in this program, law enforcement agencies, including the sheriff’s office, are eligible for financial compensation. The city of Ash Grove, for example, received $100,000 for a new vehicle along with officer overtime compensation and other benefits. In order to obtain these benefits, one only needs to sign the memorandum of agreement, according to Ash Grove Chief of Police John Davis.

Approached by Department of Homeland Security
Lawrence County Sheriff Brad DeLay was recently approached by a member of the Department of Homeland Security at a meeting of local law enforcement officials. It was then and there that he decided to join the 287(g) program. It was his call to make.
The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office is still in training for their newly delegated role of immigration officials, but once they complete it any prisoners who are detained for immigration reasons will be kept at the Lawrence County Jail, with the federal government picking up the bill for the duration of their stay. After this, the prisoner will be transferred to a location that possesses a federal contract with ICE, such as the Greene County jail.
There has been controversy of late regarding ICE’s actions as an organization, both nationwide and locally. In Minnesota, two protestors were killed by ICE agents, causing an uproar in the state. More locally, Branson’s police department recently signed on under the 287(g) program causing outrage at a council meeting. DeLay doesn’t expect the same outcome in Lawrence County, however, saying that citizens fully support law enforcement in this neck of the woods.
“I’m sure there’s somebody that’s not going to be happy with it somewhere down the road,” said DeLay. “But do I think that we’ll see an overwhelming backlash that this is a terrible thing? No, I think we would see more of the exact opposite based on where we live.”
DeLay also said that despite recent bad press, this is just another asset for law enforcement.
“What we’re doing with this program is basically just another tool in our tool kit here at Lawrence County,” he said.