Amid a backdrop of state, county and metropolis officers voicing opposition to a deliberate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in San Antonio, smaller regulation enforcement companies throughout Bexar County are quietly increasing their function in federal immigration enforcement.
Three companies — the China Grove Police Division, the St. Hedwig Marshal’s Workplace and the Hollywood Park Police Division — are the newest municipal companies to enter agreements with ICE below the 287(g) program.
They be part of the Texas Division of Public Security, the Precinct 3 Bexar County constable’s workplace and the Balcones Heights Police Division, which entered into the identical agreements in January.
This system, established via the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1996, permits ICE to coach and authorize state and native regulation enforcement officers to help with sure immigration enforcement capabilities.
Participation is voluntary, and the extent of authority granted to native companies depends upon the kind of settlement they enter into.
Whereas the agreements have existed for many years, they gained renewed consideration final yr when President Donald Trump signed an govt order directing federal companies to broaden using 287(g) partnerships “to the utmost extent permitted by regulation.” The order didn’t require state or native companies to take part however signaled a broader federal push to extend cooperation with native regulation enforcement.
An ICE brochure outlining this system additionally reveals companies could obtain federal monetary assist for his or her participation, together with funding for tools, reimbursement for officer salaries and extra time, and grants of as much as $100,000 for automobiles.
The companies in Bexar County are becoming a member of below what is called the “activity pressure mannequin” — probably the most expansive model of this system — which permits officers to implement sure immigration legal guidelines throughout on a regular basis policing actions, similar to visitors stops or different routine encounters.
Agreements formalize cooperation
Native regulation enforcement leaders who spoke with the San Antonio Report mentioned the agreements aren’t anticipated to considerably change day-to-day policing, however as an alternative formalize current cooperation with federal authorities.
In Hollywood Park, a roughly 1.5-square-mile municipality about 15 miles north of downtown San Antonio, Police Chief Shad Prichard described the settlement as a solution to strengthen coordination with federal companies whereas sustaining the division’s present method.
“This activity pressure mannequin solely strengthens this relationship by providing specialised coaching and sources that will likely be used to boost public security in our jurisdiction,” Prichard mentioned.
He emphasised the division doesn’t plan to conduct focused immigration enforcement operations.
“This settlement doesn’t change the way in which we go about our regular duties,” he mentioned. “We are going to solely take care of conditions as they develop in the middle of our regular interactions. And to be clear, this company has no plans to go door to door or conduct any sort of raid or enterprise checks on the lookout for undocumented immigrants.”
Prichard mentioned six officers from the division have been nominated for or accomplished the required coaching and that no officers will likely be assigned full-time to immigration enforcement.
In China Grove, which spans about 4.3 sq. miles roughly 12 miles east of downtown, Police Chief Ralph Sramek framed participation as a part of customary regulation enforcement duties.
“All Texas peace officers take an oath of workplace to uphold and implement all legal guidelines of the state of Texas and the US,” Sramek mentioned. “China Grove Police Division officers abide by that oath.”
Sramek added the agreements permit officers to change into “more adept” in areas of immigration enforcement already lined below Texas regulation.
“Texas regulation covers sure features of immigration enforcement,” he mentioned. “China Grove officers welcome this coaching together with all different mandated coaching for our persevering with training.”
Officers with town of St. Hedwig — a rural neighborhood on the japanese fringe of Bexar County spanning about 30.1 sq. miles — together with the marshal’s workplace, metropolis supervisor, mayor and Metropolis Council, didn’t reply to requests for remark by the point of publication.
Coaching modifications and monetary assist
Adjustments to federal tips in 2025 lowered the coaching required for officers taking part within the activity pressure mannequin, shifting from a four-week, in-person program to a roughly 40-hour course that may be accomplished on-line.
After finishing the coaching, officers may be approved to hold out sure immigration enforcement duties below ICE supervision. The shorter coaching requirement comes as federal officers transfer to broaden this system nationwide, decreasing the time dedication for departments that select to take part.
Precinct 3 Constable Mark Vojvodich beforehand pointed to accessible funding as one issue that companies take into account when coming into into the agreements, alongside staffing and useful resource issues.
“The incentives are just about per officer. After which so long as they’ve one arrest, together with their common duties, the monetary incentives may be as much as $300,000 for any precinct that’s concerned,” he mentioned when his company signed up.
Vojvodich mentioned different companies throughout Texas have reported receiving important reimbursements after taking part in this system.
“I’ve gotten calls from a few them, the place they practice their officers and have very minimal participation,” he mentioned. “Then that they had a case the place that they had a referral, and the federal authorities wrote them a test for practically $300,000.”
However not all companies are coming into this system below the identical circumstances. A brand new state regulation requires most county sheriffs and jail operators to enter into 287(g) agreements by Dec. 1, 2026.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Workplace has performed so below a extra restricted, jail-based mannequin that enables deputies to serve federal immigration warrants on people already in custody.
A decentralized system taking form
The expansion of 287(g) agreements comes as native officers proceed to push again towards a separate however associated federal effort: the deliberate growth of immigration detention capability in San Antonio.
ICE has confirmed it bought land and a facility on the East Facet of town as a part of a nationwide push to extend detention house. Federal planning paperwork point out the San Antonio facility may very well be operational by November 2026.
The proposal has drawn robust opposition from native officers at each town and county ranges. Bexar County commissioners voted 3–1 to formally oppose the challenge, whereas San Antonio Metropolis Council has directed employees to discover potential coverage responses, together with zoning modifications and a potential moratorium on new personal detention services.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert, whose district consists of the East Facet web site, has been among the many most vocal critics of the detention facility, publicly condemning the growth and exploring authorized choices in Washington, D.C.
On the similar time, smaller regulation enforcement companies working inside his precinct — together with departments in China Grove and St. Hedwig — have entered 287(g) agreements in latest months.
Calvert didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the growth of this system amongst companies in his district.
In contrast to the detention facility, participation within the 287(g) program happens on the company stage. Native departments can enter agreements instantly with ICE with out approval from metropolis councils or Commissioners Courtroom, permitting immigration enforcement authority to broaden incrementally throughout jurisdictions.
Hollywood Park police and the Precinct 3 constables workplace have each beforehand confirmed that they had not consulted with native or county management previous to becoming a member of this system.
That construction has created a patchwork system throughout Bexar County, the place greater than 30 regulation enforcement companies function with various ranges of involvement in federal immigration enforcement.
