Speeding Up Deportations: ICE's New Plan for Texas

Key Points:

• ICE aims to speed up immigrant transfers from Texas jails to detention centers.
• Plan includes a rapid response team to pick up immigrants within 30 minutes.
• Part of a broader push to enhance immigration enforcement with significant funding.
• Texas has the second-highest number of immigrants without legal status.
• All Texas counties participate in the 287(g) program, aiding local police in immigration enforcement.
• Risks include potential dangers during transport, as seen in a recent shooting incident.
• Customs and Border Protection also seeks companies to build new border facilities, with billions allocated by 2029.

Details

Rapid Response Plan:

• ICE is looking for companies to help move immigrants quickly from Texas jails.
• Goal: Have a team ready to pick up immigrants from any of Texas' 254 county jails within 30 minutes.
• This could make deportations faster and free up ICE officers for other tasks.

Broader Enforcement Push:

• The U.S. government has allocated substantial funds for increased immigration enforcement.
• Texas has a large population of immigrants without legal status, second only to California.

287(g) Program:

• All Texas counties work with ICE through the 287(g) program.
• This program allows local police to assist federal immigration officers.
• Typically, ICE officers pick up detainees from jails, but this task may now be outsourced to private companies.

Risks and Challenges:

• Transporting detainees can be dangerous. In September, two immigrants were killed and another injured in a sniper attack on an ICE facility in Dallas.

Border Facilities:

• Customs and Border Protection is also seeking companies to build new border facilities.
• Billions of dollars are planned for this initiative by 2029.