Texas DPS takes second step to partner with ICE, taking on the agency’s duties

The Highway Patrol division of the Texas Department of Public Safety said it would partner with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday, making it the second DPS wing to sign a 287(g) agreement. The program gives state officers the ability to perform designated ICE duties.

The DPS Highway Patrol supervises traffic and is the general law enforcement agency on rural Texas highways.

The DPS Criminal Investigations Division signed onto the 287(g) program on Oct. 17. Before that, the Texas National Guard and the Office of the Attorney General were the only state agencies who were partnered with ICE.

There are three models of participation, and the two DPS divisions signed onto the one that gives them the most responsibilities from ICE. The Task Force Model allows DPS to take custody of undocumented immigrants and arrest an undocumented immigrant without a warrant in specific instances, among other duties, with ICE direction and supervision.

For context, when Keller became the largest city to opt into the program in August, the city signed onto the Warrant Service Officer Program. The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office became part of the Jail Enforcement Model in June 2020. Both of these programs give the agencies limited enforcement within jails.

Danny Woodward, a staff attorney for the Texas Civil Rights Project, said this should concern every driver in the state of Texas.

“This expanded authority for one of Texas’ primary statewide law enforcement agencies, which includes highway patrol, will inevitably result in more non-safety, racial profiling traffic stops by law enforcement, creating danger on roadways, diverting attention from real public safety concerns, and exposing more people to unnecessary law enforcement interaction and potential arrest,” Woodward said.