By Trendsetter Tribune 
Between mid-October and early November, the Texas Department of Public Safety signed a pair of agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that will allow select state police officers to operate with many of the same powers as federal immigration agents.
The move significantly expands the reach of the federal 287(g) task force program in Texas. While dozens of smaller agencies — mostly rural sheriff’s departments — have already joined, DPS employs nearly 5,000 commissioned officers, making this development a major escalation.
Under the agreements, trained DPS officers will be able to interrogate individuals they believe are undocumented, arrest people without warrants if they believe they may flee, execute immigration warrants, and prepare federal charging documents. Officers are supposed to notify ICE supervisors, but only “as soon as is practicable,” meaning the authority can be exercised immediately in the field.
Critics warn that the expansion opens the door to widespread racial profiling and civil rights violations.
Advocates say they already see troubling patterns: pretextual traffic stops targeting Latino drivers and work vehicles, followed by ICE involvement — sometimes impacting U.S. citizens and children. Civil rights groups fear such tactics will accelerate.
A Program Revived — and Now Supercharged
Two other 287(g) models exist but are limited to county jails. The task force model, revived this year, allows enforcement in communities and on the road — the very version that sparked controversy years ago over profiling concerns.
Past federal reviews found many immigrants targeted under earlier 287(g) programs had committed only minor offenses or traffic violations.
Even before DPS joined, Texas already accounted for roughly one quarter of U.S. immigration arrests this year. Meanwhile, ICE has received billions in new funding for detention, deportation, and expansion of 287(g), including reimbursements and performance bonuses for agencies that participate — a change from past practice, when local governments bore the costs themselves.
Some agencies have resisted. The Dallas police chief rejected a $25 million offer to join the program, prompting political pressure from city leadership to reconsider.
State Policy Pushes Agencies to Participate
Lawmakers have also pushed local governments toward deeper federal cooperation.
Senate Bill 8 requires nearly all sheriffs to apply for 287(g) agreements or a similar program, and beginning next December, the attorney general can sue those who refuse. Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order shortly after President Trump’s inauguration directed state agencies to assist federal immigration enforcement broadly — an early signal of where policy was heading.
Opponents argue the consequences will fall hardest on Latino communities and people of color — including U.S. citizens who may lack identification during encounters with police.
DPS’ Expanding Role — and the Risks
Despite earlier testimony from DPS leadership cautioning against diverting troopers from core public-safety roles, the agency has increasingly worked alongside ICE in field operations.
Examples include:
- coordinated raids where dozens of people — including children — were detained and deported despite no criminal charges,
- assistance in arrests of individuals accused of gang ties without evidence presented,
- traffic stops that led to immigration detentions despite no tickets being issued.
In several cases, those arrested had no criminal records in Texas.
With 287(g) authority, advocates warn DPS officers will now be able to blend state criminal enforcement with federal immigration policing — giving them a dual power set that some argue can exceed the reach of ICE itself.
Supporters inside government say the agreements strengthen coordination to remove “criminal illegal immigrants.” Critics counter that the program erodes community trust, encourages profiling, and sweeps in people whose only violation is civil immigration status.
For many Texas communities, the debate now shifts from whether state police should act as immigration agents — to what happens now that the line has effectively been erased.