Tennessee Sheriff Ready To Stack Undocumented Immigrants In Jail ‘Like Cordwood’
By Elise Foley, Huffington Post Latino Voices
“If need be, I will stack these violators like cordwood in the Knox County Jail until the appropriate federal agency responds,” Knox County Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones said in a statement on Wednesday.
Jones had applied for the controversial 287(g) program, which trains local police deputies to check the immigration status ofpeople who are arrested and enforce federal immigration laws when warranted. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Jones that due to budget constraints, it didn’t have the resources to train new officers in the program.
Jones rejected that explanation in his Wednesday statement.
“Once again, the federal government has used sequestration as a smokescreen to shirk its responsibilities for providing safety and security to its citizens by denying Knox County the 287(g) corrections model. An inept administration is clearing the way for law breaking illegal immigrants to continue to thrive in our community and ultimately be allowed to reside in the United States.”
This article was first published in Huffington Post Latino Voices.
[Photo courtesy mamapundit.com]