ICE says it is working with a contractor on plans for a Tennessee Public Safety Coordination Center to support the nationwide expansion of the 287(g) program; the agency has not announced a site, budget, launch date, or final operating scope.Published August 21, 2026 · 4 min read · MigraPrep editorial teamU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said August 21 that it is working with a contractor on plans for a Public Safety Coordination Center in Tennessee. ICE said the center would support a nationwide expansion of the 287(g) program and strengthen coordination between ICE and state and local law-enforcement partners. The statement did not identify the center’s address, contractor, budget, launch date, or participating agencies. ICE said the center would provide 287(g) partners with real-time operational support, case-related guidance, and direct access to ICE resources. The agency said those functions are intended to improve response times and ensure that law-enforcement agencies have support to enforce federal immigration law. This is ICE’s description of a plan; it is not an announcement that a facility has been built or is fully operating. Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows state and local agencies to perform limited immigration functions under ICE direction and supervision. ICE describes different models, including a jail model for people already in local custody, a task-force model that can allow trained and authorized local officers to perform limited functions during routine duties or ICE-led operations, and a warrant-service model focused on administrative immigration warrants. The authority and setting differ by model. Signing an agreement does not give every local officer the same federal authority. ICE directly linked the proposed center to the nationwide expansion of 287(g). Tennessee’s Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division says it coordinates cooperation between state and local agencies and federal immigration authorities, including participation in 287(g) programs. The state page provides context for Tennessee’s existing coordination network, but it does not establish that the center described in ICE’s statement has been built or has begun providing services. ICE did not disclose the center’s staffing, data systems, training arrangements, oversight rules, or operating scale. It also did not say whether local agencies would be required to participate. Local reporting has described federal contract records that placed work related to an ICE 287(g) National Coordination Center in Tennessee, while local officials have said they were told the facility would not come to the reported site. Because ICE’s latest statement says only that plans are being developed, the location, contract scope, and final functions remain subject to later contracts, notices, or local records. The proposed coordination center would not by itself amend Section 287(g) or expand the authority in any existing local agreement. Agencies considering participation or expansion would still need to review their memorandum of agreement with ICE, training and authorization limits, state law, and local policy. An identity check, an arrest decision, a transfer, or an immigration-court case cannot be treated as completed or automatically lawful simply because ICE is planning a new coordination center. If the center eventually operates, local agencies could receive faster answers about identity, warrants, or transfers. Faster coordination would not replace required legal procedures. An administrative immigration warrant is different from a criminal arrest warrant, and the actions available to a local officer depend on the 287(g) model and the officer’s authorization. Whether someone may be detained, can seek bond, or has received immigration-court papers still depends on the person’s notices, agreements, detention record, and court file. The statement’s reference to a larger network does not establish that any particular person will be arrested or removed. ICE did not publish independent arrest, transfer, or removal figures for the center and did not say how many cases it would handle. The confirmed development is narrower: ICE says it is planning, with a contractor, a Tennessee Public Safety Coordination Center intended to support the 287(g) network with real-time assistance, case guidance, and ICE resources. The statement does not establish when the center will open, which states it will cover, how many local officers could receive authority, or that it changes an individual’s immigration status or court process. Future documents would need to show whether the center is only a communications and technical platform or would also screen cases and schedule operations; what government systems a contractor could access; whether local queries would be audited; who would investigate errors or misuse; and whether affected people could seek corrections. ICE’s short statement does not answer those questions. Contracts, policy manuals, and local agreements would provide the information needed to assess the center’s actual authority and oversight boundaries. For background on the financial risks ICE’s local-enforcement network creates for participating agencies, see the report on ICE’s proposed 287(g) liability-insurance arrangement. The central news is that ICE is planning a new coordination mechanism for an expanding local immigration-enforcement network, not that a national center is already open or that local officers have received new authority. The location, contractor, budget, launch date, participating agencies, and final operating terms may change. The plan does not change an individual’s immigration status, removal order, hearing date, or bond conditions; those questions remain governed by notices, court documents, ICE agreements, and applicable law.