The Denton County Sheriff’s Office has entered into a federal immigration enforcement agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that will allow select deputies to perform limited immigration officer duties under federal supervision, FOX 4 reported.
The agreement places Denton County under ICE’s 287(g) Task Force Model, making it the first county in North Texas to adopt that framework. Deputies participating in the program may assist with certain immigration enforcement functions while operating under ICE direction.
Sheriff: ICE Will Cover Training and Processing
Denton County Sheriff Tracy Murphree said the agreement will be implemented gradually and emphasized that ICE will cover training and related federal expenses.
“When our officers start handling some of these cases, they begin to be paid by the federal government and so there’s a lot of things to work out with that,” Murphree said. “But ICE is going to handle all the expense of training. Processing and those things.”
State Grants Expand Incentives for Counties
The Denton County decision comes as Texas expands financial support for counties entering 287(g) agreements.
Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced a new grant program that will provide counties between $80,000 and $140,000, depending on population, to help cover training and equipment costs, FOX 4 reported.
“The state now is assisting in that from a financial means and assisting based on the size of the county when the counties request it,” Hancock said.
Bill Waybourn, whose department already participates in a jail-based 287(g) agreement, said the funding will help counties facing staffing and budget constraints.
“We’re always struggling with funds, positions, and so forth like that,” Waybourn said. “So, this is going to be a welcome dollar amount that will assist us in taking care of some of that.”
Waybourn also noted that counties may expand beyond jail-based participation.
“We conduct the 287(g) program inside the jail,” he said. “There’s other 287(g) programs that we could expand to.”
Dallas Declines 287(g), Cites Department Policy
While Denton County has moved forward, Dallas declined to participate in the 287(g) program in October 2025.
Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said the department rejected a $25 million federal offer to join the program and does not conduct immigration enforcement operations.
“We were contacted by the federal government – I think it was last week, or within the last two weeks – and we were offered $25 million to be a part of 287(g),” Comeaux said. “We said, ‘Absolutely not, no.’ That was me who said that, turned it down.”
Comeaux also said Dallas police have limited interaction with ICE.
“Right now, we have had very little interactions with ICE on anything,” he said. “That’s the truth about what’s happening in Dallas right now.”
Dallas police policy bars officers from stopping individuals for the purpose of determining immigration status and prohibits arrests based solely on immigration status, according to departmental protocols.
ICE Dallas Leader: Partnerships Drive Enforcement Approach
In a separate interview with CBS News Texas, Robert Cerna, the acting director of the ICE Dallas Field Office, said cooperation with local agencies has shaped how immigration enforcement is carried out in Texas.
“I can tell you that here in Texas, I mean, we do have local partnerships, and we do work well with all our local, federal, state, and partners,” Cerna said. “We do not have any problems with jurisdictions that are not honoring our immigration detainers.”
CBS News Texas asked Cerna how decisions by departments such as Dallas affect enforcement operations.
“We have great partnerships with all of our federal partners and state local partners, and, you know, some partnerships are better than others,” Cerna said. “But as far as, you know, we can still get our job done.”
Training and Officer Identification
Cerna also addressed concerns about ICE agents wearing masks and training standards.
“Our officers will identify themselves as federal law enforcement officers,” he said. “Now, the masking the masking is, is for their safety and the safety of their family.”
Responding to questions about preparedness, Cerna said ICE agents receive consistent training.
“I think all our all our agents are going through the same type of training,” he said. “We have and we continue to train, we have quarterly trainings, and I think our officers are trained to do their job.”
State Law Driving County Decisions
Texas law requires counties with jails to enter some form of agreement with ICE by the end of 2026, accelerating participation statewide. More than 150 of Texas’ 254 counties have already entered into 287(g) agreements.
Elsewhere in North Texas, Collin County’s jail-based ICE agreement remains pending.
