About 30 people gathered outside the Rutherford County courthouse on Thursday due to frustration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Protestors called out Rutherford County officials for ratifying Section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act in Rutherford County. The federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 created Section 287 (g), which allows local law enforcement agencies to assist with aspects of U.S. immigration enforcement.

Parts of the act are already in practice, but 287 (g) requires local governments to ratify the section before local law enforcement can assist. Rutherford County ratified the section at the end of August, according to WSMV.

“This threatens our entire community. We cannot allow our friends and families to be taken away in silence,” a post promoting the protest by the MTSU College Democrats said.

The post asked followers to utilize the public comment period at the County’s Commission meeting directly following the protest.

A handful of MTSU students joined the protest by chanting and holding signs that condemned ICE and 287 (g).

There is a more humane way of handling undocumented immigrants, said Jeff Wegmer, a graduate student studying mental health counseling. Wegmer also spoke out against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement contract with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department during the public comment section of the meeting.

“We’re doing our chants now, and eventually we are going inside to do public comments and discuss our disagreements with what Rutherford County is agreeing to,” Wegmer said.

Joey Balanda, a graduate student, felt bothered that people could be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement “so easily” and that the conditions of their detainment “don’t meet basic human rights.”

The agreement makes students like Victoria Grigsby, senior and vice president of the College Democrats, feel anxious that the agreement will exacerbate immigrants’ distrust in authorities during times of crisis.

“They need to feel safe contacting the police, and if there’s a contract with ICE, they can’t feel safe doing that,” Grigsby said.

For many MTSU protestors, the goal did not concern those officials inside the courthouse.

“If I’m honest, lawmakers are very stubborn and probably will not change their minds,” Jorge Avila, president of the College of Democrats, said. “What I hope is that people realise it’s a very real and prevalent issue and that there’s a good group of people that actually care so much so that they’re out here.”

Police officers stood along all four corners of the town square. Officers also escorted officials past the protest and into the courthouse. Police placed a metal barricade between the protestors and the sidewalk leading up to the courthouse.

“Unfortunately, nowadays we live in a political environment that is not safe,” Avila said. “So, when we make our voices heard, it means something.”

This story was originally published on MTSU Sidelines on September 12, 2025.