Texas Bill Would Force Cops to Work With ICE
Senate Bill 8 requires Texas sheriffs in counties with populations of more than 100,000 to work with ICE
A new bill in the Texas Senate (SB 8) authored by Texas Republican Senators Charles Schwartner and Joan Huffman and co-authored by Lois Kolkorst would require sheriff’s departments in counties with populations over 100,000 to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). An identical bill in the Texas House (HB 5580) has also been introduced.
The legislation does not take into account whether an agency has the funds to enter into such an agreement while a competitive grant program is being offered for agencies with populations under one million people. This means that counties like Harris County, in the Houston area, would be forced to participate with ICE even if they cannot afford to do so. This targeting of larger cities and counties appears intentional, as that is typically where most migrants are.
“The sheriff of each county with a population of 100,000 or more shall request, and as offered, enter into a written agreement with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Section 287(g), Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1357(g)), or an agreement under a similar federal program to authorize officers and employees of the sheriff's department to enforce,” reads the text of the bill.
The bill moves to “authorize officers and employees of the sheriff's department to enforce federal immigration law.” However, including officers and employees who have little to no training or understanding of immigration law means that the policy will be driven mainly by racial profiling, as it has throughout the history of local and state police taking on the federal role, and much like the Trump administration’s policies are being enforced now.
As I wrote a few weeks ago:
“Historically, 287g has been riddled with problems stemming from its abuse by racist sheriffs and police officers. In 2022, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a report titled “License to Abuse: How ICE’s 287(g) Program Empowers Racist Sheriffs and Civil Rights Violations.” The report showed that racial profiling, poor jail conditions, and civil rights violations were widespread among 142 LEAs in the program at the time.”
The 287g program refers to the law added to the Immigration and Nationality Act under former president Bill Clinton. It allows ICE to permit local and state police to perform the duties of immigration enforcement agents. The program operates through three separate models under ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO): jail enforcement, warrant officers, and task forces. The latter are often referred to as “force multipliers” for ICE operations.
What makes this bill seem more like a messaging bill is the passage of Senate Bill 4 in 2017, which banned so-called “sanctuary cities” in Texas. That law requires local law enforcement agencies to assign resources like jail space and on-duty officers and allocate local tax dollars to immigration-related work, typically the federal government’s responsibility.
However, the grant program offered to cover the expenses for smaller sheriff’s departments, which are typically in politically red counties, while offering no funding for larger cities that typically vote Democrat, should not go unnoticed. Republicans under the direction of Governor Greg Abbott have been targeting politically blue counties in various ways.
From taking over the Houston Independent School District (HISD) to passing restrictive voter laws disproportionately impacting nonwhite communities in bigger cities, this bill follows the Texas Republican strategy of making life harder for voters who don’t support their extreme conservative agendas.
Under the previous Trump administration, Tom Homan recruited 18 Texas law enforcement agencies in 2017 to join the 287g program, bringing the number participating in the state to 60 and doubling the previous year. Since then, it has dropped to 43, and all but three are solely participating in the jail program. The Goliad and Smith County Sheriff departments and the Nixon Police Department participate in ERO’s task force model.
Sheriffs and police chiefs often cite the costs of operating a 287g program, along with public safety concerns. Many argue that tying their officers and resources up with duties reserved for the federal government leaves communities more vulnerable. Some have also argued that the program blurs the line between separation of powers and gives the federal government far too much control over local and state law enforcement.
Despite this, many top law enforcement officials who spoke out against the unfunded mandate focused on funding and asked that the state provide funds for police departments to satisfy the requirement to work with federal immigration agencies.
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The fabulous failure’s 287g was tailor made for Uvalde profiling cops and sheriffs.