Texas law enforcement agencies may soon be required to take a larger role in immigration enforcement.
Senate Bill 8, which made it to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk, would require county sheriffs who run a jail to have a written agreement partnering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A lot of law enforcement agencies already cooperate with ICE — at least informally. For example, say someone who is undocumented is arrested and taken to the Travis County jail. If ICE asks, the sheriff's office can detain the person for federal authorities.
SB 8 would require a formal agreement. The Travis County Sheriff's Office is weighing how that could look. An agency spokesperson said it's “carefully considering” models of partnership with ICE "based on the needs of the community and our agency." The spokesperson said the decision would be based on "available resources," but did not elaborate.
Sarah Cruz with ACLU Texas said state efforts to enforce immigration – including Operation Lone Star, the state’s multibillion-dollar crackdown on undocumented migration – have led to more racial profiling.
Cruz said she worries SB 8 could lead to more.
"I think our concern is that [SB 8] potentially leads to more racial profiling in Texas," she said. "I think over the last few years, we've seen Operation Lone Star be really harmful to our border communities, and this is now something that our interior communities are going to be facing as we have more collaboration with ICE."
The governor has previously signaled support for the measure.
The bill is one of a handful of state laws requiring local immigration enforcement stretching back nearly a decade. A 2017 law banning so-called sanctuary cities forced sheriffs to cooperate with detainer requests from ICE. The City of Austin and other cities unsuccessfully challenged that law and the sheriff's office began complying with requests.
A 2024 law would have required all law enforcement agencies in Texas to enforce immigration, but it's currently tied up in a federal appeals court.
