Bedford County, Tennessee ICE / 287(g) tracker

Bedford County ICE / 287(g): direct answers

Yes, Bedford County, Tennessee is listed as a 287(g) participant. ICE’s October 2, 2026 roster names the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office under the Warrant Service Officer (WSO) model, with an agreement date of February 18, 2026. The Tennessee CIED list also includes Bedford County.

The signed agreement, page 7, shows Austin Swing’s signature dated February 13, 2026 and ICE Deputy Director Charles Wall’s signature dated February 18, 2026. The county’s current sheriff page identifies Nikia Elliott as sheriff as checked October 6.

This page covers Bedford County and Shelbyville in Tennessee. Bedford County, Virginia and Bedford County, Pennsylvania are different jurisdictions. The Virginia sheriff’s Task Force Model agreement should not be used to describe Tennessee’s WSO agreement.

What the records do not show: an independently verified first day of operations, current authorized-officer count, complete enforcement totals or county receipts. Participation, officer authorization and actual enforcement are separate facts.

Current program status and sheriff participation

Sources: dated roster, MOA, current sheriff page. The agency remains listed in the October 2 roster; that is the latest dated federal roster examined, not a claim that ICE issued a new list on October 6.

The county lists the sheriff’s department at 110 Northcreek Drive, Shelbyville, with a general department number of 931-684-3232. Use the county government page for current office information. Older directories and the historical agreement may identify earlier officeholders.

What the Warrant Service Officer agreement permits

Section 287(g) allows specified immigration functions to be delegated through a written federal agreement. Bedford’s MOA concerns the custodial transfer of designated people in the sheriff’s jail or correctional facilities to ICE at scheduled release from criminal custody.

Under Appendix A, pages 8–9, participating personnel may serve and execute specified immigration arrest and removal warrants in those facilities. Transport to an ICE-approved facility requires an ICE officer’s request and the participating employee’s authorization. Sections IV.C–D, page 2, require training, certification and individual written authorization. Section IV.F, page 3, requires ICE direction and supervision.

The agreement does not make every county deputy an immigration officer. Its WSO scope should not be described as a Task Force Model patrol delegation. A federal operation in Shelbyville, a city police action and a sheriff’s WSO action require different evidence.

The MOA also contains custody-transfer conditions, interpreter provisions, civil-rights standards and a complaint process. Read the complete signed document for those terms. This tracker describes the public record; it does not determine the legality or outcome of an individual case.

Tennessee’s statewide requirement and January 1, 2027 deadline

Public Chapter 1015 (HB 2219 / SB 2223) became law on May 19, 2026. Section 1 requires county sheriffs to enter an agreement under an available federal 287(g) model by January 1, 2027, subject to the statutory qualifications. Legislative history · signed act · readable mirror.

The act identifies the Jail Enforcement, Warrant Service Officer, Task Force and Tribal Task Force models. It says the sheriff agreement does not require approval from the local governing body. The sheriff requirement applies to POST-certified sheriffs; the subsection excludes constables. Other law-enforcement agencies may negotiate agreements.

A violation may result in withholding state funds allocated to the sheriff’s office or for its use; the law does not say every county payment stops automatically. An office may temporarily suspend compliance to redirect resources during a qualifying public-safety emergency, with notice to state officials as soon as practicable. State-required immigration reports involving law-enforcement data must distinguish the reporting agencies.

The date distinction matters: May 19 is the act’s effective date; January 1 is the agreement deadline. Section 1 is scheduled to terminate February 1, 2029, restoring the prior law. The act also directs Tennessee Corrections Institute rules for certain temporary ICE transfers, with separate conditions and a sunset. Those provisions do not establish Bedford’s daily jail practices.

Bedford’s documented February agreement predates this law. We do not infer a new signature requirement or certify every aspect of county compliance from that fact. CTAS’s 2026 acts summary is a useful cross-check; the enacted text controls. This edition has not independently established whether later litigation affects a particular application of the act.

Agreement and statewide-law timeline

Sources: MOA page 7, ICE roster, bill history and Public Chapter 1015. The signature date is not treated as a verified first arrest, training date or first transfer.

Arrests, costs and oversight: records still needed

Unknown does not mean zero. An arrest, detainer, transfer and removal are different events. Statewide statistics and the experience of another county cannot fill a missing Bedford total.

Costs: MOA section IV.E assigns personnel and other operating expenses to the local agency and training responsibilities to ICE, with limited reimbursement language. That contractual allocation is not evidence of actual receipts. Any later award or reimbursement arrangement needs its own document.

Oversight: MOA sections IV.G and IV.I address interpretation and civil-rights standards; section V and Appendix B describe reviews and complaints. The county sheriff page and MOA provide official contact routes. Future public-record work should seek aggregate records and distinguish sheriff, city and federal activity.

Compare the separately documented Doddridge County, West Virginia ICE / 287(g) tracker. Doddridge’s model and financial records are specific to that county and should not be imported into Bedford’s status.

Source and document library

All sources below were checked for this October 6, 2026 edition. A document’s date and our review date are different.

Government publications are the factual foundation. Search snippets, historical directories and third-party trackers are discovery aids. The record library does not imply endorsement of an agency’s policy claims.

Frequently asked questions

Does Bedford County, Tennessee participate in ICE’s 287(g) program?

Yes. ICE’s October 2, 2026 roster lists the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office under the Warrant Service Officer model, with an agreement date of February 18, 2026. Tennessee’s participating-county list also includes Bedford. These records establish participation, not an arrest total.

Who signed Bedford County’s ICE agreement, and who is sheriff now?

Austin Swing signed the reviewed agreement on February 13, 2026; ICE Deputy Director Charles Wall signed on February 18. As checked October 6, Bedford County’s official sheriff page names Nikia Elliott as the current sheriff.

Does this agreement authorize a countywide immigration patrol program?

The reviewed agreement is the Warrant Service Officer model, centered on specified functions in the sheriff’s jail or correctional facilities. It is not a Task Force Model agreement. Only trained, certified and individually authorized personnel may perform the delegated functions under ICE supervision.

What is Tennessee’s 287(g) deadline for county sheriffs?

Public Chapter 1015 requires an agreement under an available federal 287(g) model by January 1, 2027, subject to the law’s qualifications, including that the sheriff is POST-certified. The act became law May 19, 2026; January 1, 2027 is the agreement deadline.

Must the Bedford County Commission approve the 287(g) agreement?

Public Chapter 1015 says an agreement under the sheriff requirement is not subject to approval by the local governing body. This does not establish that a particular expenditure, appropriation or payment occurred.

How many people has Bedford County arrested or transferred under 287(g)?

A complete county-specific primary-source series was not located for this edition. No arrest, transfer or removal total is asserted. An agency’s presence on the ICE roster is not an enforcement count, and a missing public count does not mean zero activity.

Is the Shelbyville Police Department covered by the sheriff’s agreement?

The reviewed MOA names the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office. It does not establish a separate Shelbyville Police Department agreement. County sheriff, city police and federal ICE activity must be identified separately.

Where can I read the documents and check later changes?

Use the dated ICE roster, signed MOA, Tennessee CIED list, county sheriff page and Public Chapter 1015 linked in the document library below. The update log identifies the research date and records still needed.

Update log and next document checks

October 6, 2026 — First edition. Checked ICE’s October 2 roster, the 11-page Bedford MOA, state participation list, current county sheriff page and 2026 law. Separated historical signatory Austin Swing from current sheriff Nikia Elliott. Added primary-source links, an evidence-gap table and the law’s qualifications and scheduled sunset.

Next checks: a newer ICE roster; any replacement agreement or leadership-transition amendment; officer authorization dates; county-specific activity, expenditure and receipt records; later legislation or court orders affecting the deadline. New findings will receive a dated entry and supporting source. No automatic monitoring schedule is implied.

See the Bedford County local hub, Tennessee local coverage, WorthFighting immigration coverage and Cumberland County ICE / 287(g) coverage. Send a documented correction through Corrections; see our editorial standards.

For other county decisions, see the Shelbyville & Bedford County growth and development tracker: rezonings, road and sewer plans, public spending authorizations and project records.

For education decisions, see the Bedford County schools / LifeWise and released-time religious instruction tracker, including current provider-reported status, local board policies and Tennessee requirements.

October 7, 2026 — Government guide links added. Connected the current elected-officials directory, County Commission guide and taxes/budget explainer. Program-specific research above retains its October 6 cutoff.