Tom Green Sheriff Chooses Most Limited 287(g) Model, No Immigration Patrols

SAN ANGELO, TX - Tom Green County Sheriff Nick Hanna presented an agenda item before Commissioners Court this morning regarding participation in the federal 287(g) program with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Texas law requires county sheriffs who operate a jail to enter into a cooperative agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. To meet this requirement, the Sheriff's Office is pursuing the Warrant Service Officer (WSO) model, the most limited option available under the 287(g) program.

"The Legislature's intent was not to expand local law enforcement into immigration policing, but to ensure that when someone is already lawfully in a county jail, there is a consistent, lawful, and federally supervised process for serving immigration warrants," Sheriff Hanna stated. "The Warrant Service Officer model was designed as the narrowest way to accomplish that while supporting our immigration laws as a critical component of public safety. Ensuring that laws are followed at every level helps maintain order, accountability, and trust within our community." 

Under the WSO model, trained jail personnel are authorized only to serve U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement administrative warrants on individuals who are already lawfully in custody at the Tom Green County Jail. The agreement does not authorize immigration enforcement activities outside the jail, nor does it involve patrol or investigative operations in the community.

The item was presented to the Commissioners Court to acknowledge the statutory requirement and create a public record of compliance, information from the sheriff's office stated. 

"The Sheriff's Office remains committed to complying with state and federal law while continuing to focus on its primary mission of public safety," information stated.