The Texas House gave initial approval on Saturday to a bill that would require sheriffs to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by serving federal immigration warrants at local jails.
Senate Bill 8 received preliminary approval with an 89-50 vote in the lower chamber after GOP state Rep. David Spiller, a sponsor of the legislation, amended the bill so it applies to all counties rather than just counties with populations over 100,000 as was the case in the original version, according to FOX 7 and The Texas Tribune.
“This bill is not immigration reform,” Spiller said Saturday. “This bill is the strongest border security bill — indirectly — that we could have this session.”
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The measure needs another House vote before it can return to the Senate, where the upper chamber must agree to the changes or both chambers must straighten out their differences before the bill can be sent to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
“Gov. Abbott has made it clear that cities and counties across Texas must fully cooperate with the federal government efforts to arrest, jail, and deport illegal immigrants,” Abbott’s Deputy Press Secretary Eduardo Leal said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “The Governor will review this legislation, as he does with any legislation sent to his desk that helps achieve that goal.”
Under the bill, sheriffs would be required to request partnerships with ICE, known as 287(g) agreements.
The agreements allow ICE to authorize local authorities to perform certain types of immigration enforcement in local jails, including allowing local law enforcement to question inmates about their immigration status and serve administrative warrants.
Local officers could also be authorized by ICE to question people about their immigration status during “routine police duties,” including DUI checkpoints, through a model the Trump administration has revived after it stopped being used over allegations that it led to racial profiling.
The bill would also allow the Texas attorney general to sue sheriffs who do not adhere to the agreement. Sheriffs would need to at least enter the “warrant service” agreement. They can choose to enter into other agreements to meet the requirement.
Additionally, the proposal would offer grants to sheriffs to help offset the costs of participating that are not reimbursed by the federal government.
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As of Friday, 72 Texas law enforcement agencies had signed 287(g) agreements with ICE, according to data published by ICE. Another four sheriff’s offices had pending agreements.
Roughly 20% of the agreements in place between Texas law enforcement agencies and ICE were for the “task force model,” which extends immigration authorities to officers performing routine police duties.
The legislation, filed by GOP state Sen. Charles Schwertner, could help the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans, but immigrants’ rights advocates say the requirement would lead to racial profiling of black and brown people and prompt fear among undocumented Texans who may be reluctant to report a crime or seek help from authorities who are collaborating with ICE, according to The Texas Tribune.
