Leaders Call on Knox County to End ICE Detention Agreement

Leaders Call on Knox County to End ICE Detention Agreement
September 22, 2026, 8:50 p.m.

Roger D Wilson Detention Facility

KNOXVILLE - Over 100 clergy and faith leaders from across East Tennessee, including Bishop Mark Beckman of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville, Bishop Brian Cole of the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee, Bishop Kevin Strickland of the ELCA Southeastern Synod, and the Rev. Dr. Wendy Neff, General Presbyter of the Presbytery of East Tennessee (PCUSA), publicly released an open letter calling on Knox County officials to end the county jail's detention agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to refuse any further expansion of ICE operations in our region.

The letter comes as the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility has become East Tennessee's regional hub for immigration detention. More than 5,000 people have been held there on immigration matters since January 2025, according to research by University of Tennessee sociologist Dr. Meghan Conley. Knox County has operated under a 287(g) jail enforcement agreement with ICE since 2017, and has had a detention bed contract since 2018. Sheriff Brent Gibson, who took office this month, said during his campaign and restated recently that he would move the sheriff's office toward the 287(g) task force model, which would deputize local officers to question and arrest people on suspected immigration violations in the course of ordinary police work. Under that model, a traffic stop or a call for service can begin a deportation.

Several clergy spoke on the impact this kind of harsh enforcement has on our entire community, especially the impact on families, and will seek to lift up the clear moral guidance of their faith traditions. The Rev. RJ Powell stated:

This coalition of multi-faith leaders is calling on our locally elected officials to end their collaboration with ICE. Our immigrant neighbors deserve to be treated with dignity, with due process, access to legal counsel, and the freedom to seek spiritual care without fear. The strong response by faith leaders throughout our region reflects how deeply this issue touches the East Tennessee community, and how united and organized we are in saying: enough. We stand with our immigrant neighbors. We ask that our concerns be taken seriously by the Knox County Sheriff's Office and all our local county governments. We welcome opportunities to sit down and discuss humane ways forward for our community.