Senator pushes 'bold and powerful' bill requiring sheriffs to partner with ICE
AUSTIN (Nexstar) - Legislation to mandate Texas sheriffs participate in immigration law enforcement is moving closer to a vote at the Texas Capitol. Senate Bill 8 is on the chamber's intent calendar for Monday.
The bill filed by State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, would require all Texas counties with 100,000 or more people to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) 287(g) program. Schwertner described the program as a partnership between local law enforcement and federal ICE in the identification and detention of criminal aliens.
"People overwhelmingly saw the policies of an open border and how it affects communities, and they overwhelmingly warrant stronger enforcement of criminal aliens to make sure they are identified, detained, prosecuted and deported," Schwertner said.
Senator Schwertner has discussed the ideas in Senate Bill 8 in previous sessions. He said this year, the ideas are getting more traction at the Capitol.
"The current genesis of the bill is the people overwhelmingly voicing their opinion last November, on November 5, that we need stronger border enforcement and enforcement of our immigration laws," Schwertner said.
Some opponents of the legislation have raised concerns that it could discourage some people from reporting crimes, potentially putting public safety at risk.
"As SB 8 is discussed, it is my sincere hope that public safety is carefully considered. When people are afraid, they hide in the shadows. Victims don’t report crime and witnesses don’t come forward with information. Criminals win as they take advantage of the vulnerable among us," Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez wrote in a statement on SB 8.
"The impact of that reaches beyond immigration to our humanity. I want victims of crime to run to law enforcement, not away from us," Hernandez added.
Schwertner emphasized that the goal of the legislation is to protect Texans by getting criminals out of the community.
"I ask them if they want criminal aliens running around and causing violence and crime against citizens that they know, Texans they know, and I would hope their answer would be no," Schwertner said, referring to opponents of the legislation.
"We need to, again, identify, detain, prosecute and deport criminal aliens. The 287(g) program goes a long ways of helping us identify those aliens that are in custody already for a crime they committed, and making sure that they're held accountable," Schwertner said.
During the committee hearing for SB 8, detractors of the program highlighted how expensive the program could be to enter, with Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne saying it would cost $10,000 for each officer in his program.
SB 8 would partially take the financial burden off most counties by starting a grant program. Counties would be granted money proportionally based on their population and how many counties that applied for the grant.
However, SB 8 would force counties with more than a million people — Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, Travis and Collin as of the 2020 census — to pay their own way.
“From (the Sheriff’s Association of Texas), we’re really worried about unfunded mandates,” Hawthorne, who also acts as the Legislative Chairman for the Sheriff’s Association of Texas, said while testifying in support of the bill. “We think that financial relief portion shouldn’t be in a grant program; it should just be a part of the program. And it should cover all 254 counties that get into the program.”
"There is a cost associated with it, but it's defrayed by this grant program," Schwertner said. He acknowledged the concerns, but maintained that the cost should not derail the bill.
"In my opinion, it's an obligation of local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws and detain criminal aliens. That is what our citizens want. That is what is necessary to make Texas safe and our community safe, and it is absolutely vital that we identify, detain, prosecute and deport criminal aliens that are in this country illegally," Schwertner said.
The senator said he expects the process to be contentious, but he believes the legislation will become law.
"The bottom line is, the people of the United States, the people of Texas, has spoken very clearly in the national election on November 5," Schwertner said. "It's time for Texas to take a very bold and powerful stance against criminal aliens and illegal immigration by passing Senate Bill 8."