Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently arrested more than 1,500 illegal aliens, including sexual predators and fugitives, in Texas during a 10-day period, the agency announced on Nov. 5. It’s an extraordinary achievement, and a reminder that even with operations of this scale, the border security and deportation effort is still only scratching the surface.
Texas is vast, and for every arrest made, there are countless others who have slipped through the cracks. But that number will soon grow even higher thanks to a new law passed by the Texas Legislature this year requiring nearly all county sheriffs to request entry into the federal 287(g) program.
The 287(g) program, authorized under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, allows state and local law enforcement officers to partner directly with ICE to identify, detain, and remove illegal aliens. This model — expanded successfully in Florida — gives local law enforcement officers the authority and training to enforce immigration law as a true force multiplier.
As of November, 58 agencies in Texas operate under the 287(g) Task Force Model agreement — four state agencies, 39 sheriffs’ departments, and 15 municipalities. Texas must continue to increase that number until every jurisdiction is doing its part to protect its citizens, and other states must imitate Texas’ example and expand or begin the adoption of the Task Force Model in their own jurisdictions.
The legislation Texas lawmakers passed requiring nearly all county sheriff departments in the state to formally request entry into 287(g) agreements takes effect Jan. 1. This was a bold and necessary step toward full cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. But it cannot stop there. The mandate should extend beyond sheriffs’ departments to include municipal police departments and constables. No one knows their community better than the officers who patrol it every day, and every Texan deserves to live safely and know that their peace officers are aggressively identifying and removing illegal aliens who threaten public safety.
Recently, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) highway patrol and criminal investigation divisions made a similar move in pursuit of public safety, formally signing on to a 287(g) agreement with the Department of Homeland Security — a major step forward in restoring the rule of law in our state. For too long, illegal immigration has strained our communities, our law enforcement agencies, and our economy. By joining the 287(g) program, Texas DPS is sending a clear message: Texas will not be a sanctuary for lawbreakers.
While the Trump administration is taking more aggressive enforcement action in sanctuary jurisdictions like Chicago and New York, red states cannot afford to ease off the gas. It is not enough to celebrate progress in blue states that flout federal law. States like Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and Tennessee must be held to the highest standard — ensuring they are fully aligned with the administration’s mass deportation mandate and maximizing the use of every resource provided.
Grassroots organizations and community leaders should hold local officials accountable, insisting that they join these programs, including those like the Operation Lone Star Task Force, led by Goliad County Sheriff Roy Boyd. That task force, which now includes more than 60 participating agencies, represents exactly the kind of coordinated, proactive approach Texas and other red states need. When state, county, and local agencies act in concert with federal partners, cartels lose ground, criminal networks are dismantled, and communities become safer.
Some of the recent ICE arrests in the Houston area include Selvin Joel Lara Diaz, “a 35-year-old previously deported child predator illegal alien and Mexican Mafia gang member who was convicted of raping and impregnating his minor sister.” He is also “wanted in his home country of Honduras for murder.”
These are exactly the kinds of dangerous criminals being removed from our communities. Despite political attacks claiming that immigration enforcement is unlawful or discriminatory, these actions protect Texans.
Texas has shown it can lead where Washington fails to act. Other states can too. With the 287(g) framework expanding and new state laws requiring cooperation, there is a rare moment of alignment between state and federal priorities. The tools, authority, and political will are all in place. What’s needed now is follow-through.
Every law enforcement agency in Texas and other red states should seize this opportunity and take part in the 287(g) program. With the Department of War helping secure the border, Republican leaders in Texas and elsewhere can redirect more resources to securing the interior — removing those who have no lawful right to be here and ensuring that every community in conservative states is safe and sovereign.
Selene Rodriguez is a campaign director for the Secure and Sovereign Nation campaign at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
