Sheriffs in Texas Could Soon Be Forced to Help Immigration Raids 

ICE DNA Immigration

In Texas, the machinery behind the most aggressive immigration crackdown in recent memory continues to tighten its grip. 

The Texas State Senate has approved a bill that would require sheriffs in counties with over 100,000 residents to sign cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Senate Bill 8, introduced by state senators Joan Huffman and Charles Schwertner, passed with a vote of 20 to 11 and now moves to the state’s lower chamber. If it clears the next hurdle, the bill would also allow the state attorney general to sue any sheriff believed to be resisting enforcement. 

The push is part of a broader effort to support the current administration’s pledge to carry out the largest deportation operation in the country’s history. With limited federal agents available to target the estimated 13 million undocumented immigrants the administration seeks to remove, the plan leans heavily on local authorities. Furthermore, officials have revived the 287g program, which turns local law enforcement officers into ICE collaborators through a range of partnership models. 

The Return of the 287g Program

In its earlier versions, the program focused on jails. Some officers were trained over four weeks to interrogate detainees about immigration status. Others, receiving a single-day course, simply followed ICE orders without questioning inmates. Since the administration returned to power, however, attention has shifted to the least-used and most aggressive form of cooperation. Known as the task force model, it gives officers the authority to act as immigration agents during everyday duties. A traffic stop now has the potential to end in deportation. 

ICE has already signed 179 of these new agreements in 23 states. Texas hosts several, but Florida leads in both quantity and compliance. Nationwide, the total number of ICE-local enforcement partnerships has doubled, reaching 445 since the administration resumed control. 

Of course, opposition has grown with the expansion. Critics point to the steep costs counties face when adopting the program, especially when personnel are poorly trained to handle complex immigration procedures. Nevertheless, the Texas bill proposes a 20-million-dollar fund to support counties with populations under a million. Others would receive no assistance, prompting concern among Democratic lawmakers who voted against the bill. 

Legal Resistance and Diverging State Paths

Texas Governor Greg Abbott remains one of the administration’s closest allies on immigration, steering the state toward deeper cooperation. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the most severe anti-immigration law in the country in February. It criminalizes undocumented presence and mandates that local law enforcement aid federal immigration authorities. But legal resistance has already arrived. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit challenging the law as unconstitutional and dangerous. 

The complaint describes how the Florida legislation delegates complex immigration decisions to untrained state officers, authorizes the detention of people with legal grounds to remain in the U.S., and targets individuals who may soon receive asylum, visas, or permanent status.  

Across the United States, the politics of immigration enforcement are diverging sharply. And it’s becoming increasingly worrisome for many.  

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