(The Center Square) – With less than two weeks before a primary runoff election, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been ramping up the number of lawsuits and complaints being filed.
One of the latest is his claim that Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown is not cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and that she must request a formal agreement by June 1.
He demanded that she comply with state law as “part of an investigation designed to prevent sanctuary policies, ensure that Texas law is followed, and facilitate the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office assisting ICE in enforcing federal immigration law.”
Paxton argues a new state law in effect, SB 8, requires all sheriffs that operate jails to “enter into formal agreements with ICE to increase cooperation on immigration enforcement. These agreements authorize state officers to perform the functions of a federal ICE officer in relation to the investigation, apprehension, or detention of illegal aliens in the United States.”
The Dallas County jail is the seventh-largest jail in the U.S. with an average jail population of more than 6,000 inmates and more than 2,000 employees.
In response, Sheriff Brown said she’s not in violation of any law, the legislature established a compliance deadline of Dec. 1, 2026, and “no statutory violation presently exists.”
She also said that Dallas County “currently maintains an active working relationship with ICE and participates in operational coordination substantially similar to the jail-enforcement model contemplated by Chapter 753,” referring to state statute.
Dallas County “already engages in cooperation with federal authorities and does not view duplicative administrative measures as necessary to achieve the public safety objections underlying the statute,” she said, adding that the county remains committed to evaluating all available options related to compliance with state and federal laws.
SB 8 defines an “immigration law enforcement agreement” as a “written agreement between a state or local law enforcement official and the immigration enforcement agency under Section 287(g), Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1357(g)), or a similar federal program, that authorizes the official and the official’s officers, employees, and contractors to enforce federal immigration law.”
Section 753.051 states, “The sheriff of each county that operates a jail or contracts with a private vendor to operate a jail shall request and enter into an immigration law enforcement agreement to authorize the sheriff and officers, employees, and, as applicable, contractors of the sheriff’s department to enforce federal immigration law.”
It also states, “A sheriff who requested but did not enter into an immigration law enforcement agreement under this section shall make additional requests to enter into an agreement under this section at least once annually after each request is made.”
This was a major source of confusion last year when lawmakers and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick claimed the law would require all law enforcement to cooperate with ICE when it doesn’t.
Under the Trump administration, there are three 287(g) programs law enforcement can participate in: the Jail Enforcement Model (JEM), Task Force Model (TFM) and Warrant Service Officer (WSO) model, The Center Square reported. Training is free and participants receive significant federal funding.
As of May 15, there are 384 287(g) agreements signed with Texas law enforcement agencies, including agencies that have signed all three JEM, TFM and WSO agreements, according to the latest ICE data.
There are nearly 2,800 law enforcement agencies in Texas, more than any other state. There are 82,815 licensed peace officers and nearly 25,000 licensed jailers in Texas, according to the latest Texas Commission on Law Enforcement data. Among them are 250 elected sheriffs.
By contrast, Florida is the only state to have all of its sheriff’s participating in 287(g); nearly all are participating in the TFM. Many are participating in all three programs, The Center Square reported.
