KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler has renewed the Memorandum of Understanding between the sheriff's office and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as the 287(g) program.
The partnership allows deputies to act on behalf of ICE.
"I believe the continuation of the Memorandum of Understanding also known as the 287(g) is the best thing for Knox County and our Citizens," Spangler said.
RELATED (6/30/17): Immigration attorney: 287(g) program won't save county money
The agreement, which delegates immigration authority from federal agents to local law enforcement, lets the sheriff's office interview detainees in the jail regarding their immigration status, make determinations about their deportability, and access federal databases and computer systems, according to experts.
The controversial 287(g) program trains deputies to check a suspect's immigration status after an arrest is made. The program has also been criticized by local immigration activist groups.
Allies of Knoxville's Immigrant Neighbors (AKIN) said in a statement to 10News they believe the 287(g) program will lead to a less safe community and contribute to "the unnecessary separation of immigrant families."
"Rather than making our country safer, this expensive and controversial program makes us less secure - by eroding trust between law enforcement and the community, encouraging racial profiling, tearing parents from children, and diverting local resources from local needs," the group said in a statement.
When it was introduced in 2017, the sheriff's office said it would cut down on how long the department has to hold detainees to determine their immigration status, but some counties that already adopted it have faced serious financial dilemmas.
In April, a University of Tennessee researcher filed a lawsuit against the Knox County Sheriff for access to local records about immigration enforcement and implementation of the 287(g) program.
Meghan Conley, a professor at UT, is currently studying immigration enforcement in the Southeastern U.S. as well as the 287(g) program.
According to the suit filed in the Knox County Chancery Court, Conley has asked to see records relating to agreements the Knox County Sheriff's Office has made with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
RELATED: UT researcher suing the Knox Co. Sheriff over 287(g) immigration enforcement records access
The filing said, so far, all the Sheriff's Office has provided is a thank you note from ICE for the Sheriff's Office's interest in the 287(g) program.
Conley is suing under the TN Public Records Acts, which broadly states that all state, county and municipal records shall be open for personal inspection by any citizen of Tennessee during business hours -- and that records custodians must answer requests promptly.
Conley is now asking a judge to order the sheriff to allow her access to those records.
AKIN also said they stand with the hundreds of Knoxvillians who have written to Sheriff Spangler to express their opposition to this program.