Since President Trump’s 2024 election, Democrats’ highest priority has been blocking mass deportations. One of their most effective tactics is isolating ICE—passing sanctuary laws that ban or severely restrict local police cooperation, reducing efficiency and increasing risks to ICE agents.

Texas is countering that strategy. The state’s 287(g) program is a partnership that lets local law enforcement assist ICE in immigration enforcement. To encourage participation, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 8, creating the Sheriff Immigration Law Enforcement Grant Program. The program provides grants to jurisdictions that join 287(g), strengthening both local departments and federal enforcement capacity.

The Texas Comptroller’s Office has already distributed more than $6.5 million in grants to participating police departments across the state.

Under 287(g), agencies can use three models:

– Warrant Service Officer (WSO): Designated local officers serve ICE administrative warrants and deliver immigration paperwork inside jails without ICE present, enabling custody transfers as part of routine operations.

– Jail Enforcement Model (JEM): ICE-trained jail staff screen arrestees for immigration status while they remain in local custody. No conviction is required, so even low-level or nonviolent arrests can trigger detainers, extended detention, and transfer to federal custody—making county jails a primary entry point into the deportation system.

– Task Force Model: Trained local officers may question individuals about immigration status during routine encounters outside jails, such as traffic stops or field investigations, increasing the chance that everyday police interactions lead to federal immigration involvement.

Encouraging Texas police departments to join 287(g) has long been a policy goal of Texans for Strong Borders. Greater cooperation expands deportations and reduces violence against ICE agents. With Texas backing ICE, the agency can redeploy more resources to Democrat-controlled states that resist immigration law.

Strong Borders fully supports the Sheriff Immigration Law Enforcement Grant Program and the progress already made.