UPDATED WITH ADDITIONAL SOUNDBITES: RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. – Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr is urging all county commissioners to publicly rebuke Commissioner Hope Oliver after a controversial statement she made during Monday’s Public Safety Committee meeting... Oliver can be heard stating, "ICE has been, an organization that's been around for a long time, but has not been emboldened, and, a – a terrorist organization like it's turning out to be."  The word emboldened is commonly used to state that someone or some group has confidence to do or behave in a certain way.

Mayor Carr suggested the idea to rebuke Oliver on Wednesday, just two days after her initial statement... Again, Carr told WGNS, "But what she doesn't have a right to do, is label ICE as a terrorist organization."

The statement made by Commissioner Oliver was made after the public comment period, moments before Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh stepped to the podium. 

The brief exchange ended and Public Safety Committee Chairman Pettus Read said, "I'm gonna ask ya' - let the Sheriff speak please..." (as heard in the following soundbite)...

NO CONTRACT WITH ICE: Sheriff Fitzhugh addressed confusion about ICE contracts, clarifying that his office has not and will not sign a contract with ICE, because he does not have the authority to do so. He said the 287(g) program operates under a memorandum of understanding. Furthermore, there are three different options with three different programs (as heard in the first article about the meeting on Monday (HERE). He added that deputies with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office are not tasked with actively searching for or arresting undocumented individuals...

Regardless of where you were born, be it America, Haiti, Australia, Argentina, or Mexico, the local Sheriff’s Office is not on the prowl for YOU – unless...

According to ICE, there are three main programs under the 287(g) agreement:

• Jail Enforcement Model (JEM): Allows state and local law enforcement to identify criminal aliens and immigration violators in custody and place them into immigration proceedings.

• Warrant Service Officer (WSO): Grants officers authority to execute civil immigration warrants within their detention facilities.

• Task Force Model (TFM): Extends limited immigration enforcement authority to state and local law enforcement during routine duties with ICE oversight.

In Fiscal Year 2024 (Oct. 1, 2023 – Sept. 30, 2024), ICE reported that agencies participating in the Enforcement and Removal Operations of the 287(g) program had more than 12,600 encounters with undocumented individuals. Of those, 467 involved individuals convicted of assault, 568 involved drug-related convictions, and 784 involved individuals convicted of sex offenses or sexual assault.

Mayor Carr continues to call for a public rebuke of Commissioner Oliver, framing her comments as damaging both to public trust and to ongoing discussions about law enforcement cooperation with ICE.

• SEE Article from Monday Public Safety Meeting HERE