US over ICE: Our Sheriff should work for US, not ICE
- Indivisible Sumner
- Jan 7
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Photo by Daniel Whitaker
Today, January 7th 2026, a Minneapolis woman was shot multiple times in the head by an ICE officer at point blank range. She was killed. This is a tragic day for us as citizens, and unfortunately, one many of us anticipated. We knew that ICE's actions would continuously become more erratic and violent. We shouted it from the rooftops together, in every way we knew how. I feel, in my bones, the turning point that this is and must be.
Over the last few months, Sumner County has also seen ICE escalating. If you are unfamiliar with recent events, I encourage you to read past blogs, as well as the letter below. We should all be writing our Sheriff today and tomorrow to demand he rescind
our contract with ICE. He has the full ability to do so. We need a clear statement from our local law enforcement that they will protect US, not ICE.
I recommend you include the following in your letter to the Sheriff:
A demand that he rescind Sumner County's 287(g) agreement
A promise to protect all Sumner County residents from ICE
His appearance at the next Health and Emergency Services Meeting on February 2nd at 5:00 pm in the Sumner County Admin Building, room 112 (NOW POSTPONED TO MARCH 2ND)
A demand that at this meeting he provide a detailed Sheriff's report on our 287(g) agreement, including how much it has cost the county and the individuals they have held for ICE, plus if they were or were not violent offenders.
Sheriff Craddock's contact info:
Phone: (615) 452-2616
Here is my letter:
Dear Sheriff Craddock-
In April of 2025, you signed the 287(g) Agreement that obligates our county to work in collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It was a swift decision, made without public input.
You touted this as a move toward more "efficiency". When members of the community voiced concerns, you assured them it would only concern people already in the Sumner County Jail (the WSO model). I believe you were genuine, and that you signed on believing it would benefit Sumner County and remain a simple procedural pathway within our jail system.
However, as soon as that contract was signed, many Sumner County residents understood that things would inevitably escalate. Over the last few months, they have. In November, an undocumented individual was taken into ICE custody at the Sumner County Courthouse, which the Sheriff's Department oversees security for. This individual was there for driving without a valid license- a non-violent offense. A friend of this individual- a LEGAL RESIDENT of Sumner County- was also taken into ICE custody. In response to the event, you suggested your officers had to intervene due to escalation. If they were involved in any way, how did they allow a documented resident to be taken into ICE custody and taken to an ICE facility? The ICE agents had no warrant to take him, yet your department allowed it to happen in a building that is under their guard.
The incident at the courthouse raises so many concerns about what could potentially be happening within our jail. Sumner county residents have no way of knowing what violations of law and order are taking place within the jail. Is there any oversight when ICE makes errors or acts purely based on race? Every day new reports emerge about the incompetence, poor decision making, racial profiling and violence committed by ICE.
Today, January 7th 2026, a woman in Minneapolis was shot at and killed at point blank range by an ICE officer while attempting to move her vehicle out of their way. She was murdered. She was murdered by the same force that you have signed Sumner County up to collaborate with. While the WSO model concerns the jail, those of us that are watching see the expansion. We saw the courthouse. We saw Portland PD riding along with ICE New Years Eve Day. And in our work with the legal and immigrant community, we are getting word that it is not just "the worst of the worst" being held for ICE within our county jail.
It's a good time to remember what your ultimate duty is as Sheriff of Sumner County. To ensure the safety of our community. Any local law enforcement bound in agreement with ICE does not ensure our safety, but promises fear, distrust, and danger in our county. Sumner County's 287(g) agreement is a deal with the devil. Rescind the agreement and promise our community that you will protect US, not ICE.
I hope you will be in attendance at the next Health and Emergency Services meeting, and that you will speak in full transparency about our 287(g) program during your Sheriff's Report. We would like to know:
How much the 287(g) has cost the county. If we are being federally reimbursed due to funding changes, how much? And how will this not create a financial dependency problem for our county?
Who is being taken by ICE from the jail? What offenses were they brought into Sumner County custody for? Have any minors been taken by ICE? How many individuals have been taken by ICE from our jail since the signing of our contract.
How will you protect our community from dangerous and incompetent federal agents?
Mandy Cook
Community Organizer
Indivisible Sumner
I also encourage you to sign the petition below:
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