Texas Democrats Make New Move Against ICE

Two prominent Texas Democratic congressmen are urging local officials to walk away from federal immigration partnerships that state law requires. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar held a press conference in San Antonio calling on six Bexar County cities to end their 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The cities — Hollywood Park, China Grove, St. Hedwig, Balcones Heights, Sandy Oaks, and Von Ormy — operate under the Task Force model of 287(g). That arrangement trains local officers to inquire about citizenship status during routine patrols, access ICE databases, and make arrests of those suspected of being in the country illegally.

Castro claimed the agreements lead to racial profiling and turn hometown police into federal immigration enforcers. He suggested financial motives drive the partnerships. “I believe a big part of the reason they are doing it is they are trying to balance their budgets with this money, because they receive money for every officer that is trained to carry out this partnership with ICE,” Castro said.

He went further in his criticism of the agency under President Trump. “Bear in mind that ICE has become a rogue, abusive organization under Donald Trump. We’ve seen their brutality on the streets, but I’ve seen their brutality, as has Greg, behind the closed doors in places like the Dilley trailer prison.”

Casar echoed the call for local officials to reject the partnerships. “Our ask today is simple: mayors across Bexar County need to stop signing up their police to do Donald Trump’s ICE enforcement. We’re here to tell them, get out, cut it out, we do not need our communities selling out.”

Texas law requires any county that operates a jail to participate in 287(g). The original provision dates back to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, signed by President Bill Clinton. Clinton described the legislation as strengthening the rule of law by cracking down on illegal immigration at the border, in the workplace, and in the criminal justice system.

Former acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has explained the practical benefits of such cooperation. Agents prefer safe transfers of criminal aliens while they remain in local custody rather than conducting neighborhood arrests that require larger teams and increase risks for everyone involved.

The push by Castro and Casar highlights ongoing tension between local sanctuary-style preferences and Texas statutes designed to support federal immigration enforcement. Local mayors now face pressure from Democratic members of Congress to potentially violate state requirements.