PHOTO — Magnolia priest Michael Johns listens during Tuesday’s Columbia County Quorum Court meeting. | magnoliareporter.com photo by Becky Bell
By BECKY BELL | magnoliareporter.com
How Columbia County will handle funding from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency’s 287(g) program was the main focus of Tuesday’s evening Quorum Court meeting.
Columbia County Sheriff Leroy Martin spoke to justices of the peace about what he called misinformation out in the community about funding. He stressed that money for handling cases involving undocumented people is not provided through local funding.
It is federal money. ICE, through its 287(g) program, is willing to provide participating law enforcement agencies with $7,500 per officer for equipment, and another $7,500 per officer for technology. There’s an additional $100,000 stipend available for vehicles.
Some discussion was held among Quorum Court members over an ordinance creating a county revenue fund for the receipt of 287(g) money, and to declare an emergency so that funds could be deposited at the earliest possible date.
The measure passed but District 1 Justice of the Peace Annette Pate and District 3 Justice of the Peace Jason Clark dissented.
Sheriff Martin passionately spoke on the topic before votes were taken. He said facts about the 287g program had been reported incorrectly in a recent news media report, creating unwarranted fear.
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Editor’s note: The Arkadelphian published a portion of this article ahead of a similar decision that will be part of an upcoming meeting of the Clark County Quorum Court. That meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in the Clark County Circuit Courtroom, located upstairs in the Clark County Court Complex, 419 Clay St., Arkadelphia. Meetings of the quorum court are open to the public. See the agenda for the upcoming meeting below.
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