The Daviess County Sheriff’s Office has expressed initial interest in learning more about a potential partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Sheriff Brad Youngman emphasized that his office will not be conducting immigration enforcement such as searching for undocumented immigrants or questioning individuals about their status during routine interactions.
Instead, Youngman said any potential collaboration would be limited to assisting ICE in apprehending dangerous criminals who are already being targeted by federal authorities. He made it clear that his office will not participate in random enforcement actions — such as knocking on doors or conducting raids — and that public safety, not immigration status, is the priority.
“We are not interested in terrorizing immigrants,” Youngman said. “If there is a dangerous criminal who happens to be an illegal immigrant and is in our area, we are willing to assist ICE in taking them into custody. But this is not about targeting people simply for being here without documentation.”
Youngman said his office received an email earlier this month from the Kentucky Sheriffs’ Association, which was passing along an inquiry from ICE gauging whether local agencies would be interested in learning more about participation in federal task forces. Youngman responded that he would like more details. On Tuesday, he stressed to Owensboro Times that his office has not made any commitments, despite what at least one other media outlet in the state has reported.
“There’s some misinformation out there suggesting we’ve already signed up, and that’s just not true,” Youngman said. “Right now, we are simply in the initial phase of gathering information to determine if this would be a good fit for our agency.”
The inquiry from ICE comes as part of the federal government’s efforts to strengthen partnerships with local law enforcement through the 287(g) program. Established under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, the program allows state and local law enforcement agencies to enter into agreements with ICE to assist in enforcing certain immigration laws.
Under the 287(g) program, ICE offers three different models for collaboration:
- The Jail Enforcement Model (JEM), in which local jail personnel identify and process removable individuals who have been arrested for criminal offenses.
- The Task Force Model (TFM), which allows local law enforcement to work alongside ICE in locating and apprehending undocumented individuals who have committed serious crimes.
- The Warrant Service Officer (WSO) Program, which trains and authorizes local officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on noncitizens already in custody.
Youngman said DCSO has expressed interest in learning more about the WSO and TFM models.
“We are not looking at the Jail Enforcement Model because in Kentucky, sheriffs do not oversee jails,” Youngman said. “But we are open to learning more about the Task Force Model and Warrant Service Officer Program to see if they would be beneficial in cases where we are dealing with serious criminals.”
The Task Force Model (TFM) would allow certain DCSO deputies to be designated as 287(g) task force officers who could assist ICE with specific criminal investigations. These officers would work under ICE’s oversight and would only act on cases involving individuals who are already on ICE’s target list due to criminal activity.
“This is not about us patrolling neighborhoods, knocking on doors, or randomly stopping people to ask for their status,” Youngman said. “This would be about working alongside ICE when they are already investigating someone who poses a legitimate threat to public safety.”
The Warrant Service Officer (WSO) Program would allow trained DCSO personnel to serve ICE administrative warrants on individuals already in custody at the local jail. While Kentucky sheriffs do not run county jails, deputies often assist in law enforcement operations that lead to detentions, and Youngman said it could be useful to have the ability to facilitate ICE’s involvement in those cases when necessary.
“I see this as an opportunity to be more proactive when we already have someone in custody who is a known criminal and who ICE is looking for,” he said. “This wouldn’t be about rounding people up — it’s about ensuring that dangerous individuals don’t slip through the cracks.”
Youngman pointed out that DCSO has long participated in other federal task forces, including partnerships with the U.S. Marshals and the FBI. Those agreements allow deputies to assist in enforcing specific federal laws in situations where local resources alone may not be sufficient.
“I’ve worked cases in the past where an illegal immigrant committed a child sex crime in Daviess County and then fled to another area,” Youngman said. “Having the ability to work directly with ICE on cases like that could help us track down dangerous individuals more effectively.”
Youngman also made it clear that DCSO does not currently enforce federal immigration laws and does not check immigration status during routine law enforcement interactions.
“If you need help, we are here to help you,” he said. “We are not going to Mexican restaurants or Asian businesses asking people for their papers. That’s not what this is about.”
ICE has previously worked in the Daviess County area, but Youngman said the agency does not have a permanent presence here. When ICE agents do operate in the region, they often ask local law enforcement for assistance, which Youngman said is standard practice among federal agencies.
Youngman said that in states with sanctuary cities, ICE often faces greater challenges in carrying out its operations. However, Kentucky does not have sanctuary policies, meaning local law enforcement agencies already cooperate with ICE when necessary.
“This is not a situation where we’re being asked to change how we operate,” Youngman said. “If ICE is coming here looking for a violent criminal, we’re already assisting them. This potential task force model would simply formalize that relationship and allow us to be more effective in keeping the community safe.”
At this stage, Youngman is waiting for more information about what participation would entail before making any commitments.
“At the end of the day, my priority is keeping our community safe,” Youngman said. “If this partnership can help us take dangerous criminals off the streets while respecting the rights of our residents, then it’s worth considering. But if it turns out that this is something that doesn’t fit with our mission, then we won’t do it.”
