“Inside the Capitol” examines key bills from the 89th legislative session that impact the Texas State and San Marcos communities. The session began on Jan. 14 and ends June 2.
Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), introduced by Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) and Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) would require sheriff’s offices in counties with a population of more than 100,000 to sign an immigration enforcement agreement with federal law enforcement.
The agreements, called 287(g) agreements, would allow sheriff deputies to work alongside federal law enforcement in one of three ways: the Jail Enforcement Model, which would allow sheriff’s offices to identify individuals for deportation and process their removals, the Taskforce Model, which allows limited immigration authority and requires communication with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Warrant Service Officer Program, which would have ICE train local law enforcement on how to execute immigration warrants.
“36 Texas counties already have a 287(g) agreement with ICE,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a press release after the senate passed their version of the bill. “Passage of SB 8 into law will bring Texas counties with the largest jail populations into a 287(g) agreement with ICE to prevent illegal immigrants, some of whom are dangerous criminals, from wreaking havoc on Texas communities.”
While Patrick praised the bill, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra criticized it for not allocating funds to cover additional costs. He also said the bill encroaches on local autonomy.
“This is yet another unfunded mandate, and what that means is simply the state telling local government what to do without allocating a budget right further,” Becerra said.
While SB 8 does create a grant to cover the cost, it would only award $100,000 to a counties with a population between 100,000 and 499,999 people. According to Glassdoor, the average salary of a Hays County sheriff’s deputy is $71,000, meaning the grant wouldn’t even cover the costs of two deputies.
Becerra also expressed concerns that requiring 287(g) agreements would damage community relationships with local law enforcement.
“It’s disruptive to the relationships that we’re trying to build with our law enforcement in our communities, because when law enforcement has been forced to act like an extension of The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs and Border Patrol,” Becerra said. “All of a sudden our trust has evaporated. The community is going to see a deputy and think deportation.”
He is also worried the potential agreement would put stress on the Hays County Jail which he said is already over capacity. Currently 38% of all individuals held in custody by Hays County are being held in Haskell County.
Becerra further called the current handling of immigration enforcement unconstitutional, calling recent immigration arrests kidnapping.
“Community members are being disappeared from our county, and I have no knowledge as to who took them, as to where they were taken and as to what name is attached to that so that we can verify,” Becerra said. “And as the county’s Director of Homeland Security, I find that behavior from the federal government unacceptable.”
Local social welfare organization, Mano Amiga Action, is organizing with groups across the state to oppose SB 8.
“Here in Hays County in particular, we’re a rapidly growing and diverse county, and we already have existing racial disparities and arrest and jail bookings,” Eric Martinez, the groups executive director, said. “[SB 8] targets anyone perceived to be an immigrant. If you’re black or brown, you’re more likely to be stopped question and funneled into a system where due process barely exists.”
Martinez’s claims of racial disparities are correct, as both Black and Hispanic groups make up a larger portion of the jail population than they represent in Hays County as a whole.
Like Becerra, Martinez also criticized the bill for requiring funds to be directed away from other issues in the county.
He also said the bill would impact individuals in the county regardless of their citizenship status.
“Everyone in Texas is connected to an immigrant in some way,” Martinez said. “It’s going to devastate communities, it’s going to devastate economies. It’s going to completely erode entire generations of people’s trust in our system, our system of law.”
Martinez also spoke about the importance of locals, especially those who belong to ethnic minority groups, to know their rights when it comes to immigration law.
“The Constitution protects us all, and the Constitution, and all rights, are like a muscle. If we don’t use them and exercise them, they atrophy up until a point to where we can’t use them anymore,” Martinez said.
As of June 2, SB 8 was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, where it will either be vetoed or become law. Abbott signed an executive order similar to this bill in January.
