Tennessee legislation · 114th General Assembly
Tennessee SB2223: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 7; Title 8; Title 16; Title 17; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40 and Title 41, relative to immigration.
Status: Chaptered, May 26, 2026
Fiscal Summary NOT SIGNFICIANT Bill Summary ON APRIL 20, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2219, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #2 rewrites the bill to, instead, require the sheriff of each county to enter into an agreement under an available federal 287(g) program, and expands the powers of the board of control of the Tennessee corrections institute. FEDERAL 287(G) PROGRAM This amendment requires, by January 1, 2027, the sheriff of each county to enter into an agreement under an available federal 287(g) program pursuant to federal law with the appropriate federal official, concerning the enforcement of federal immigration law. An agreement is not subject to approval from the governing body of the local government that the sheriff serves. For purposes of this amendment, "an available federal 287(g) program" must be one of the following programs: Jail enforcement model. Warrant service officer model. Task force model. Tribal task force model. This amendment provides that a violation may result in the state withholding all funds of the state allotted to the sheriff's office or to the local government for use by the sheriff's office via grant, contract, or statute, including state-shared taxes. This amendment authorizes a sheriff's office to temporarily suspend compliance with a memorandum of agreement executed if an emergency arises that requires the sheriff's office to redirect deputy sheriffs and resources to respond to the emergency due to a legitimate threat to the public safety and welfare. If a sheriff's office temporarily suspends compliance with the memorandum of agreement, then the sheriff must provide notice as soon as practicable to the chief immigration enforcement officer and the commissioner of safety. This only applies to a sheriff who is POST-certified.
What the bill says
From the amended text:
Amendment No. 5 to HB2219 Salinas Signature of Sponsor AMEND S e n ate Bill No. 2223* House Bill No. 2219 by adding the following as a new subdivision in Section 1: (5) On or before January 31, 2027, and each January 31 thereafter, the sheriff of each county shall submit a report to the mayor and legislative body of the sheriff's county, the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the speaker of the senate. The report under this subdivision (b)(5) must provide: (A) The costs incurred by the county in relation to the participation in the 287(g) program, such as equipment, pay, overtime pay, and hiring, and for counties receiving state and federal funding, the allocation of such funding; (B) The division of labor as it relates to immigration enforcement; (C) Traffic stop data broken out by demographic and infraction; and (D) Jail demographic data broken out by crime category, including holds of detainees for the United States bureau of immigration and customs enforcement (ICE). HA1237