(Texas Scorecard) – Senate Bill 8, filed by State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown), is a top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Schwertner’s proposal would require each county with a population of 100,000 or more—43 counties in total—to sign an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“The 287(g) ICE program is a federal program that 35 Texas counties are already involved in, as well as one municipality and the Texas attorney general’s office,” said Schwertner in the Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday.
The agreement, a special provision under Section 287(g) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, allows the federal government to co-delegate “the investigation, apprehension, or detention of aliens” to states.
Schwertner said the program “allows officers at county jails to check the immigration status of all people that are booked in their jail.”
Law enforcement officers utilizing the federal program could access a database to verify whether an arrestee is in the country illegally, as many counties already do through voluntary cooperation with ICE.
If determined to be an illegal alien, the officers can create an ICE immigration detainer.
SB 8 also includes a grant program administered by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts for counties under 1 million in population to help finance the staff, equipment, and training costs of the 287(g) program. The grant program is not limited to counties with populations exceeding 100,000 required to participate in the 287(g) program; it’s also open for smaller counties that choose to participate.
Schwertner acknowledged during the hearing that the measure was a “compromise” between those who want the 287(g) program required in all Texas counties and those who are concerned about its costs.
“There was great discussion as to whether or not all counties in Texas should participate,” continued Schwertner. “And kind of the compromise is establishing a grant program to help defray the costs for those who are smaller-sized counties to participate, but mandating it for counties that are 100,000 or above.”
Section 287(g) agreements are currently enforced under different models to participating jurisdictions across Texas, according to ICE. Among them are:
- The Jail Enforcement Model—designed to identify and process illegal aliens with criminal or pending criminal charge arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies.
- The Task Force Model—which enforces limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during routine police duties.
- The Warrant Service Officer program—which creates training and certification programs for state and local law enforcement officers to execute administrative warrants on illegal aliens in jail.
Data showed sheriff’s departments already have a Jail Enforcement Model agreement in the counties of Aransas, Calhoun, Chambers, DeWitt, Matagorda, Tarrant, Victoria, Walker, and Wharton.
Rick DeLeon, the recently-elected sheriff of Matagorda County, testified in favor of SB 8, commending his county’s participation in the 287(g) program as “working just like it was intended to.” DeLeon also requested financial support for program participants.
Tarrant County Sheriff Bill E. Waybourn told the committee that his county has “the largest 287(g) program in the nation” and has been working with ICE since 2017.
The 287(g) program “is manpower intensive. [D]uring the Biden administration, they somewhat diluted a lot of what we can do. They stopped training. So, we’re having to pick up and trying to figure out how to do that,” he added.
While applauding the program, Waybourn implored senators to reconsider SB 8’s provisions that do not provide grants to counties with more than one million residents.
“It takes about 11 people to run our program 100 percent of the time in Tarrant County. And that’s 11 people that sometimes we have a hard time finding,” said Waybourn.
Waybourn also highlighted that roughly 300 people transferred to ICE custody during the Biden administration were later released back into the community. The sheriff confirmed that they are prioritizing illegal aliens with criminal warrants released over the last four years.
Schwertner asked about the total manpower of Waybourn’s department and the number of individuals currently working in the program.
“We’re an organization of 1,700 with 1,000 people in the jail,” Waybourn said referring to total manpower. Of those working in the 287(g) program, Waybourn disclosed that about “four or five” individuals are currently working in it.
Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne, legislative chairman for the Sheriff’s Association of Texas also testified in support of SB 8.
Both Hawthorne and Waybourn said that while attending a recent conference with Border Czar Tom Homan, he announced that mandatory training for the 287(g) program would be reduced from three to four weeks to eight days.
Trudy Taylor Smith of the Children’s Defense Fund—Texas said she opposes SB 8 because it could threaten the “dignity” and “physical safety” of the children of illegal aliens.
“This bill would use taxpayer money to potentially lock up immigrant children and parents in inhumane conditions,” argued Smith.
President Donald Trump initiated the Section 287(g) expansion via executive order earlier this year to assist his administration’s mass deportation efforts. Gov. Greg Abbott issued his own executive order directing all relevant state agencies “to assist federal actors” with implementing Section 287(g) shortly thereafter.
Attorney General Ken Paxton became the first state official to sign an agreement with the Trump administration to carry out the efforts, according to a February 2 announcement from his office.
That same day, Abbott also revealed that he signed a memorandum of understanding with the CBP to grant Texas National Guard personnel the authority to make immigration arrests.
Schwertner’s measure would ensure that Texas’ largest jurisdictions are also on board with the state and federal effort to apprehend those illegally residing in the country.
SB 8 was left pending in committee and will be taken up at a later date.