EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has chosen how it will comply with a new state law that requires cooperation with federal immigration authorities in larger Texas counties.
Senate Bill 8, which was signed into law earlier this year, mandates that sheriff’s offices in counties with populations over 100,000 enter into a 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These agreements allow trained local officers to carry out certain federal immigration functions.
Under SB 8, sheriffs have three options for how to participate:
- Task Force Model: Allows deputies to work alongside ICE in the community, including during street-level enforcement operations.
- Jail Enforcement Model: Gives trained jail staff authority to question inmates about immigration status and process violations inside the jail.
- Warrant Service Officer (WSO) Model: Limits participation to serving administrative warrants or detainers on individuals already booked into county jail.
El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte says his office will move forward with the Warrant Service Officer option.
“This is not an option. This is not something that I wanted to do. But the sheriff’s office needs to do it because it’s a state law,” Sheriff Ugarte said.
Under the WSO model, immigration checks would take place only after a person has already been booked into the county jail. A trained deputy or detention officer would review federal databases to see if a detainer or immigration warrant exists. If one appears, that individual would be held for federal authorities.
Ugarte says the process is similar to what currently happens inside the jail, but right now those checks are conducted by federal officers rather than local staff.
He also said he chose this option to avoid affecting community trust and shifting deputies into street-level federal enforcement.
“I believe that this will affect the community less,” Ugarte said. “If we go out there and enforce federal law, and if we choose the task force model for the streets, I believe that’s going to create a big disconnect between the community and local law enforcement.”
SB 8 includes a state grant to help implement the program. Ugarte says that amount is expected to be a little over $100,000, but he believes costs could exceed that once staffing, equipment, and training are included.
The sheriff says there are still unanswered questions, including who will be trained under the program and how training will be provided.
Ugarte says a contract with ICE must be finalized by December, before the law takes effect in January 2026.
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