Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Wednesday that he is launching an investigation into the Dallas County sheriff for allegedly failing to pursue a formal agreement to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Last year, the Texas Legislature enacted a law mandating sheriffs who oversee jails or manage jail operations to participate in the federal 287(g) program, which grants local law enforcement certain powers related to immigration enforcement. Since the law was implemented on January 1, Paxton noted that sheriffs in El Paso, Bexar, and Harris counties have begun discussions or have already established agreements with ICE. However, Dallas County has yet to take similar action.
In a letter addressed to Sheriff Marian Brown, Paxton stated, “The decision of whether to seek such an agreement is not yours to make.”
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment.
The 287(g) program encompasses two types of jail-related partnerships, one of which is the warrant service model. This model allows officers to “serve and execute administrative warrants” on individuals detained in their jails, holding them for ICE.
Notably, even in the absence of a warrant partnership, the Dallas County Jail ranks among the top ten jails in the nation for ICE detainers—requests from immigration agents to hold individuals for deportation. Between September 2023 and late July 2025, the jail accounted for over 4,000 detainers, surpassing the numbers from Bexar County during the same timeframe, according to data from the Deportation Data Project. Harris County Jail topped the list nationally with more than 9,500 detainers.
A 2017 state law also compels sheriff’s offices operating county jails to comply with these detainer requests.
The Bexar County sheriff entered into a 287(g) warrant service agreement in October, based on ICE data last updated on May 12. Information regarding agreements for El Paso and Harris counties is currently unavailable, although the El Paso agency has indicated its intention to pursue a similar model.
As of May 12, ICE data reveals that Texas sheriffs have signed a total of 270 agreements under the cooperative program, with some counties opting for multiple models.
The 287(g) program also includes a task force model that enables local law enforcement agencies to inquire about individuals’ immigration status during routine policing activities.
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