While Sheriff Eddie Scott said illegal immigration is not a major problem for Clay County, signing deputies up for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement training could open up the department to at least $115,000 to fund enforcement.

Both Clay and Noxubee County sheriff’s offices signed an agreement to join ICE’s 287(g) program, under which deputies can make immigration law-related arrests, question a person’s immigration status during a traffic stop or arrest and detain individuals believed to be in the country unlawfully.

“The main reason there is community safety,” Scott told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “Again, we don’t have (a) major issue here that I’m aware of. But again, by partnering with other agencies and stuff it just helps us be prepared.”

With Gov. Tate Reeves’ approval of Senate Bill 2114 in April, all sheriffs’ departments in the state must sign a memorandum of agreement with ICE to enforce at least one of three models within the 287(g) program. Before the legislation, the program was voluntary for all law enforcement agencies.

The three models range in the enforcement methods granted to local agencies.

Through the program’s jail enforcement model, local officers investigate the immigration status of individuals only after they’ve been arrested, then alert ICE for processing. This is the model most similar to the current process Oktibbeha, Lowndes, Clay and Noxubee sheriff’s offices follow when dealing with cases of illegal immigration.

Under the task force model, partner agencies receive immigration enforcement training and can make immigration arrests during their regular duties regardless of whether the suspected immigrant is charged with a crime. Agencies under the warrant service officer model can serve and execute arrest warrants on undocumented immigrants in their custody.

A public list of ICE’s partnering agencies for the program includes both Clay and Noxubee counties, but there is no agreement yet between Oktibbeha and Lowndes counties’ sheriff departments on the list.

Initially, when the bill was making its way through the legislature, Scott said he believed his department would select the jail enforcement model. Speaking to The Dispatch in February, he said the jail enforcement model would be the easiest to implement and would put the least strain on the department’s limited resources.

However, after sitting down and looking through all three models more closely, Scott said he settled on the task force model instead in hopes of expanding the department’s capabilities and preparation efforts if undocumented immigrants are found in the county.

“I just feel more comfortable having the access to ICE, (and) having somebody on the ground in case we need it,” Scott said of the agreement. “… I train my investigators for homicide. We always hope and pray we don’t need it. But at some point in time, we know we will, it’s just all about being prepared.”

Along with the authority to enforce immigration laws, agencies participating in the task force model are eligible to receive $100,000 for new vehicles, $7,500 per deputy for equipment, and salary, benefits and overtime funds, according to ICE’s 287(g) fact sheet.

While the potential boost to the department’s budget was certainly a consideration for Scott, he said to receive those funds, a department has to make immigration-related arrests on a regular basis.

But because CCSO hasn’t arrested a single undocumented immigrant in the last year, Scott said the department may not qualify to receive the funding.

“I don’t know that we’re going to make any arrests at all to even qualify for that,” Scott said. “My goal was just to have somebody trained and (have) another asset … in case we have an issue. Because it could pop up at any time.”

Scott said two CCSO deputies started online training with ICE in April. They will go on to receive additional in-person training before they’re allowed to enforce immigration law in the county.

While the agreement will allow deputies to question immigration status during traffic stops, Scott said deputies will not seek out Hispanic people in Clay County to inquire about their immigration status.

If the deputies have any doubts during traffic stops or arrests, Scott said it is at their discretion to question further.

“When you do a traffic stop, if they can’t present you a valid driver’s license from the state of Mississippi or (another state), at that point in time, that’s going to lead to more questions,” Scott said. “And then you may get into the immigration part of it, and at that point in time, that’s when you may (get) ICE involved.”

Noxubee County Sheriff Tedrick Liddell did not return calls or texts to the Dispatch by press time Wednesday.