OPINION
On Thursday, February 6th, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith hosted an immigration panel to address community concerns about immigration enforcement policies under the Trump administration.
At the panel, Sheriff Smith attempted to reassure community members and, apparently, illegal aliens that they did not need to fear any enforcement action from the Sheriff’s Department unless they committed serious crimes. Smith went on to specify that it is the policy of the Smith County Sheriff’s Department not to run immigration checks on anyone who was detained, ticketed, or arrested for a Class C misdemeanor, only for Class B misdemeanors or above.
“I’m the one that sets the bar of what we’re going to do here in Smith County: DWI or above. Everybody that gets stopped for a traffic ticket, everybody that gets stopped for anything less than a Class B misdemeanor has nothing to worry about, unless you run.”
Sheriff Smith went on to say that even if Tyler Police Department or some other law enforcement entity in the county arrested an illegal alien and brought them to jail on a Class C misdemeanor, the county jail would not run immigration checks on that person because it did not fit into their model of immigration enforcement (again, a Class B misdemeanor or above).
Smith also noted that Smith County is a participant in the Delegation of Immigration Authority Section 287(g) program administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), specifically the Jail Enforcement model. He further stated that if the Task Force Model (suspended in 2012 during the Obama Administration) is brought back, he plans for Smith County to be a participant.
On Tuesday, February 11th, Smith was questioned about these comments during a meeting of the Smith County Commissioner’s Court in the context of a grant application for rifle-rated body armor that required Department of Homeland Security (DHS) compliance as a condition of receiving the grant.
In response to these questions, Sheriff Smith said that the Smith County Sheriff’s Department does not, presumably as a policy, ask for immigration status “on the street,” such as during a traffic stop.
He also stated that if an illegal alien is arrested for a Class C misdemeanor and “immigration” (presumably ICE) has issued a warrant for their arrest and detention, they would comply under the guidelines of their Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Homeland Security under the 287(g) Jail Enforcement model.
“That is on a law enforcement stop on the street: we do not ask for their status. If they are arrested on a Class C misdemeanor all the way up, under the current policy… if it’s immigration doing it, once they go to jail, that’s where it triggers.”
Assuming the Sheriff’s comments are accurate, they appear to be in compliance with their obligations under federal immigration law. However, some of the Sheriff’s comments appear to indicate violations of Texas’ Sanctuary Jurisdictions law, passed as SB 4 by the Texas Legislature in 2017.
Section 752.053 of the Texas Government Code states:
Sec. 752.053. POLICIES AND ACTIONS REGARDING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT.
(a) A local entity or campus police department may not:
(1) adopt, enforce, or endorse a policy under which the entity or department prohibits or materially limits the enforcement of immigration laws;
(2) as demonstrated by pattern or practice, prohibit or materially limit the enforcement of immigration laws; or
(3) for an entity that is a law enforcement agency or for a department, as demonstrated by pattern or practice, intentionally violate Article 2A.060, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(b) In compliance with Subsection (a), a local entity or campus police department may not prohibit or materially limit a person who is a commissioned peace officer described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, a corrections officer, a booking clerk, a magistrate, or a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or other prosecuting attorney and who is employed by or otherwise under the direction or control of the entity or department from doing any of the following:
(1) inquiring into the immigration status of a person under a lawful detention or under arrest;
(2) with respect to information relating to the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any person under a lawful detention or under arrest, including information regarding the person's place of birth:
(A) sending the information to or requesting or receiving the information from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or another relevant federal agency;
(B) maintaining the information; or
(C) exchanging the information with another local entity or campus police department or a federal or state governmental entity;
Under policies set by Sheriff Smith, Sheriff’s Deputies are prohibited from inquiring into the immigration status of a person who is under lawful detention, such as a traffic stop or other investigative detention for a Class C misdemeanor.
Additionally, unless there is a standing ICE warrant for that person, County Corrections Officers are prohibited from inquiring into the immigration status of illegal aliens who are arrested or detained for a Class C misdemeanor.
Both of these policies appear to violate the letter of the law. The penalties for this include civil penalties for the offending entity and, if the illegal directive comes from an elected or appointed official, removal from office via a petition from the Office of the Attorney General. Since Sheriff Smith says in his own words that he made this determination for a threshold of a Class B misdemeanor, he may face removal from office if the Office of the Attorney General concludes that he did indeed violate Section 752.053 of the Texas Government Code.
A good faith interpretation of Sheriff Smith’s comments on the matter suggest that these polices originate from a desire to limit collateral damage from illegal aliens fleeing from routine traffic stops, but the law does not allow for such considerations. Instead, such a policy must leave it to the discretion of the investigating officer whether or not to inquire into a person’s immigration status.
At Texans for Strong Borders, we believe that local and state law enforcement should make every possible effort under the law to ensure that illegal aliens, particularly those who commit crimes, are swiftly identified and put into ICE custody, where they can be processed for deportation.
It should be extremely concerning to citizens that a Republican Sheriff who touts his participation in the 287(g) program would set such policies and make attempts to reassure illegal aliens that they have nothing to worry about unless they commit a serious crime. To make matters worse, several other sheriffs from neighboring counties echoed these sentiments.
The standard should be very simple: do not enter the United States illegally, do not continue to reside in the United States illegally, do not drive without a driver license or insurance. Persistent lenient enforcement by local officials is a major reason why tens of millions of illegal aliens have settled in our country.
At this time, we have been made aware of several citizens in Smith County who have filed complaints with the Office of the Attorney General connected with these comments. We will continue to provide updates on any further action taken by the Sheriff’s office or the Office of the Attorney General.
Get him out! They are all here illegally and need to go back where they are from. Let them come in the proper way!