Texas advances law requiring sheriffs to assist in deportations

The state of Texas is moving forward in its quest to help the Trump administration fulfill its desire to carry out the largest deportation in history. The Senate of the Republican-led state approved a bill this week that will require sheriffs in all counties with more than 100,000 residents to sign cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Senate Bill 8, introduced by Republican state Senators Joan Huffman and Charles Schwertner, passed 20-11 in the upper chamber but still needs to move on to the state’s lower chamber. If passed, the bill would also allow the State Attorney General’s Office to sue a sheriff if it believes the officer is not complying with the law.

Collaboration with local and state authorities is essential for Trump to carry out his plans for mass expulsions, as federal law enforcement resources are limited and cannot manage detaining the 13 million undocumented immigrants the Republican wants to remove from the country.

The Trump administration has urged states to enter into collaborative agreements with ICE under the 287g program, which allows local authorities to detain undocumented individuals who have been arrested for reasons unrelated to their immigration status, and transfer them to immigration agents.

Until last year, two modalities were most commonly used. The Jail Enforcement Model (JEM) allows for interrogation of detainees to determine their immigration status. To do this, agents undergo a four-week training course. The Warrant Service Officer (WSO) model authorizes agents to carry out ICE orders, but does not allow them to conduct interrogations. In this case, the training only lasts eight hours.

Since Trump returned to the White House, however, the previously unused “task force” model has been promoted, allowing local law enforcement to act as immigration agents during their routine activities. Under this model, for example, a traffic officer can arrest undocumented immigrants.

ICE has signed 179 such agreements with local agencies in 23 states, some in Texas and the majority in Florida. Since Trump took office, the total partnerships between ICE and local and state law enforcement have doubled, and there are now 445 agreements in all forms.

In addition to concerns about the appropriateness of tasking poorly trained personnel with immigration enforcement duties, agreements with ICE have encountered opposition in many counties due to the high cost of implementing them, which diverts resources from other areas.

The Texas bill would create a $20 million fund to subsidize counties with fewer than one million residents, but would leave the rest without assistance, leading several Democratic senators to oppose it.

Texas, which is governed by Greg Abbott, one of Trump’s staunchest allies in his anti-immigration crusade, would thus become one of the states that cooperate the most with the federal government, like Florida. On February 13, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the most sweeping anti-immigration law in the country — SB 4C — which criminalizes those who enter the state without papers and has forced local law enforcement to cooperate with immigration authorities.

Lawsuit against Florida

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging DeSantis’s legislation. “Florida’s SB 4C is not only unconstitutional, but also cruel and dangerous,” said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU in Florida. “This law strips power from the federal government and gives it to state officials with no immigration training or authority, threatening to separate families and detain people with every legal right to be here. Our communities deserve safety, dignity, and due process, not politically motivated attacks.”

The complaint details how SB 4C forces state law enforcement to make complex decisions regarding federal immigration, authorizes the detention of individuals who pose no threat, and criminalizes individuals to whom the federal government may later grant asylum, visas, or permanent status.

“Our plaintiffs include a mother applying for a visa as a victim of crime, a mother of four caring for a child with disabilities, and farmworkers who regularly travel between Florida and other states to harvest our food,” said Amy Godshall, staff attorney with the Florida ACLU. “This law not only violates the Constitution, but threatens the safety and well-being of those who have lived in our communities for decades.”

While Florida and Texas are tightening their immigration laws, Maryland is considering relaxing them. The Maryland House of Delegates is considering banning the state’s existing 287g agreements and replacing them with a different type of cooperation with ICE. The proposal would require local jail officials to inform immigration authorities only in cases where detainees are charged with serious crimes and are about to be released. Immigration agents would have 48 hours to take custody. Currently, seven Maryland counties have signed agreements with ICE. In three of them, local officials inform the immigration agency about their detainees, even before a trial. If the Senate does not move forward with the proposal, the cooperation would continue.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition