Latest news with #SB8
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Immigration Enforcement Bill Sent To Abbott After House And Senate Reach Agreement
(Texas Scorecard) – A high-profile immigration enforcement measure is now headed to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk after both chambers approved a compromise hammered out in conference committee over the last week. Senate Bill 8, a top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Republican Party of Texas, requires all Texas sheriffs who operate or contract to operate a jail to pursue formal cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Section 287(g) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. State Rep. David Spiller (R–Jacksboro), who led negotiations for the House, called the legislation 'heavily negotiated.' When the Senate first passed SB 8 in April, it applied only to sheriffs in counties with populations over 100,000. But the House broadened the bill significantly, requiring universal coverage for all counties that run jails, regardless of population. That provision was maintained in the final version. 'We improved the bill with a floor substitute to provide for universal coverage of the 287(g) program to all counties that operate or contract to operate a jail,' Spiller told House members Monday. 'SB 8, in its original form, only had counties with a population of 100,000 or more. This version has expanded that to all counties.' Under the final language, counties may enter into any of the three ICE partnership models allowed under federal law—the task force model, jail enforcement model, or the warrant service model that had been emphasized in the House version. The conference committee also made a major funding shift. While the House had created both a grant and reimbursement program to support implementation, the final bill eliminates the reimbursement system and substantially increases grant funding instead. 'The monies that were there for the entirety are now basically front-end loaded,' said Spiller. 'We addressed concerns that counties needed funds to be able to implement and operate. We've done that.' The grant program awards counties between $80,000 and $140,000, depending on population, to help cover the cost of implementing an agreement with ICE. These funds can be used for officer compensation, reporting requirements, equipment, training, and detention-related expenses not reimbursed by the federal government. 'What we now have, in my view, is a very strong bill that achieves the public safety purposes of the bill,' Spiller said. 'It provides universal coverage and cooperation, provides necessary funding to the counties, guarantees coordination with the executive orders and President Trump, and provides assistance and cooperation with our federal partners to assist in enforcing existing immigration law.' The legislation now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it into law.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Bill requiring that Texas sheriffs work with federal immigration authorities heads to governor's desk
Texas would further cement its role in enforcing immigration laws under a bill the state Legislature sent to the governor Sunday that would require most sheriffs to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Gov. Greg Abbott has signaled support for such an idea, and President Donald Trump — whose administration could receive a big personnel boost for its mass deportation ambitions if Texas joins the effort — endorsed the proposed law Friday as state lawmakers worked on the latest compromise. The version of Senate Bill 8 that lawmakers ultimately voted to send to the governor would require sheriffs who run or contract out operations of a jail to request and enter agreements with ICE under a federal law that lets ICE extend limited immigration authority to local law enforcement officers. The bill would cover approximately 234 of the state's 254 counties, according to a bill author. Over the weekend, SB 8 received strong condemnation from some Democrats, high praise from immigration hardliners who had pushed all legislative session for a more sweeping bill, and ultimately a final green light from the GOP-dominated Legislature: The Senate approved the bill 20-11 and the House 89-52. 'It's not just about securing the border, it's about public safety,' Rep. David Spiller, a Jacksboro Republican who carried the bill in the House, said Sunday after the House vote. 'The focus previously before President Trump got back in office was mainly [to] secure the border. That's being done, but we still have to deal with what's happened over the past four years — and quite frankly the years before that — so the focus is still the same but it's slightly directed more toward just a public safety concern.' The federal government offers three kinds of partnerships, known as 287(g) agreements, that local authorities can enter with ICE. SB 8 previously required sheriffs only to enter into agreements involving serving administrative warrants in jails. The final version allows sheriffs to request any of the three agreements, including one that lets ICE authorize local officers to question people about their immigration status while doing their daily policing in the field. The Trump administration revived that program after it fell into disuse due to allegations that it led to racial profiling. Seventy-three law enforcement agencies in the state already have 287(g) agreements with ICE — including the state National Guard and the Texas Attorney General's office, according to statistics published by ICE. Most of the agreements are for the two jail programs. Before the votes in each chamber, Democrats raised concerns that SB 8 will erode immigrant communities' trust in law enforcement, result in racial profiling by law enforcement and place a financial burden on counties that have long complained that such agreements add new responsibilities for already-strapped law enforcement agencies. Sen. Charles Schwertner, a Georgetown Republican who co-authored the bill with Houston Republican Sen. Joan Huffman, dismissed the worries during the upper chamber's Saturday debate, arguing in part that voters asked for it. He also highlighted a grant program under SB 8, expanded under the final version, that would help to offset costs not covered by the federal government and said sheriffs would have discretion to select which program to participate in. 'The people of the United States and of Texas spoke very clearly last November regarding their concerns of illegal immigration and the concerns of criminal illegal aliens doing great harm to communities to Texas cities and counties,' Schwertner told his colleagues. 'That's why I filed this bill.' Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat who is an immigration lawyer, brought up a racial profiling documentary about Texas police pulling over and harassing Black drivers, whose belongings — like cars and jewelry — they would confiscate through forfeiture cases that became a boon for a local government, he said. 'Are you not afraid of the potentiality for racial profiling by police if they see what presumably looks like Mexican or Hispanic people in a truck, that they will not be pulled over simply because of the color of their skin?' he asked Schwertner. 'Senator, our world is not racially blind, color blind,' Schwertner responded. 'There are obviously inherent biases of individuals. That said, there are ways to properly train … there is training to address the concerns of racial profiling.' 'Well, I'm glad that you agree with me that racism is still alive and well in this country,' Gutierrez said. The Trump administration is trying to shorten training for the program, according to Schwertner's testimony during a Senate panel hearing on the bill in March. During debate on the House floor, some lawmakers pointed to evidence of racial profiling, most notably by the sheriff of Arizona's Maricopa County, Joe Arpaio, whose deputies regularly engaged in misconduct that violated the constitutional rights of Latinos stemming from the program, according to a federal probe. 'It is one of the most inhuman models,' state Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, D-San Antonio, said. SB 8 would become the latest move state lawmakers take to carve out the state's lane in immigration enforcement. Other states have followed suit by passing similar laws that together could recalibrate states' role in what was long held by courts to be the federal government's sole responsibility. Texas is home to about 11% of immigrants in the United States and an estimated 1.6 million undocumented persons — the second-most in the country after California. Two years ago the Legislature approved a bill to grant Texas police the authority to arrest people suspected of being in the country illegally. During the Biden administration, the U.S. Justice Department sued Texas to stop the measure from going into effect, as did civil rights and advocacy groups. The incoming Trump administration swiftly dropped the lawsuit, and the state has argued for the dismissal of a related legal challenge, arguing that the Department of Homeland Security and Texas law enforcement are already cooperating to enforce federal immigration laws. Before then, the state in 2017 prohibited local government policies that prevent a peace officer from asking about a person's immigration status, targeting municipalities that declared themselves 'sanctuary cities' and directed local police not to cooperate with federal immigration officials during Trump's first term. 'SB 8 will not make our communities safer, but it will force sheriffs to do the work of ICE in support of the federal government's shameful mass deportation efforts,' Sarah Cruz of the ACLU of Texas said in a statement Sunday. 'The legislature should not strip local communities of their ability to make decisions about what keeps them safe.' First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Legislature OKs bill requiring sheriffs to partner with federal authorities to enforce immigration laws
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas legislature gave the final approval of Senate Bill 8, which will require almost every single county in the state to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enforce federal immigration laws. It's a move supporters say will keep Texans safe while aligning the state with the Trump administration on strict immigration enforcement. Opponents argue it could lead to overcrowding in jails, a chilling effect on reporting crimes, and racial profiling in minority communities. After going through various changes throughout the legislative process, lawmakers in both chambers finally came to an agreement on the final language of the bill a day before a deadline that would have killed the bill before getting to the governor's desk. SB 8 would require every sheriffs department in a county that operates a jail, or contracts with a private jail, to enter into an agreement with ICE known as 287(g). Currently in Texas there are 234 counties that this bill applies to, according to the bill's author State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown. 'Texas needs to be much more proactive in identifying, detaining, prosecuting and deporting criminal illegal aliens,' Schwertner said. The 287(g) program allows sheriff's deputies to assume some ICE duties, like questioning migrants, issuing warrants or arresting them for immigration violations, depending on their specific training. There are three models within the 287(g) program a law enforcement agency can enter into. They include: Jail Enforcement Model – allows officers to question people to determine immigration status, put their information into a Homeland Security database, take statements and begin the deportation process with an immigration detainer and notice to appear. Warrant Service Officer – a narrower scope than jail enforcement, with officers identifying people as non-citizens during the booking process, referring those people to ICE for evaluation and possible deportation, and serving ICE administrative warrants on people in their custody, according to the ACLU. Task Force Model – described by ICE as a 'force multiplier,' allowing local officers to enforce immigration laws during their routine duties in the community. The final version of the bill gives discretion to sheriffs to decide which of the three models it will enter into with ICE. Sheriffs could decide to enter into more than one type of model, but it is not required to have more than one. It also provides a grant program to help counties cover the cost of training staff or operating the program. The grant amount ranges between $80,000 and $140,000 depending on the size of the county. In laying out the bill on the Senate floor, Schwertner said it sends a clear message. 'Texas will not tolerate criminal illegal aliens threatening our communities,' Schwertner said. But Democratic members in the Senate raised concerns with the bill. It passed along party lines in the Senate. Opponents of the 287(g) program have argued the incorporation of local law enforcement in federal immigration enforcement will lead many people to not call in the case of emergency out of fear it could lead to them or their family being deported. 'That's an issue that I have, that we're going to potentially drive immigrants into the shadows, and you know, make them victims, or have them a bull's eye of potential crimes,' State Sen. José Menéndez, D – San Antonio, said to Schwertner on the Senate floor. Schwertner argued it would not prevent lawfully present citizens from calling the police in an emergency. 'The people of the United States and of Texas spoke very clearly last November regarding their concerns of illegal immigration and the concerns of criminal illegal aliens doing great harm to communities,' Schwertner said. But Menéndez pointed there are some families with mixed status, where the parents may not lawfully be in the country but their children are. 'If people understand that that family, there's an undocumented person, they have a target now, because people know, well, they won't call the police because there's an undocumented person in that household,' Menéndez explained. Another concern is the capacity in Texas jails. The 287(g) program would require counties place an immigration detainer on an inmate that is deemed to be in the country illegally. Opponents argue this would be costly for counties to hold on to somebody in the jail and wait for federal immigration officials to pick them up. There's also an issue of space. According to data from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, between January and February this year there were 7,481 inmates in Texas jails with an immigration detainer placed on them. Those inmates spent a total of 156,494 days in jail, which averages out to about 21 days per inmate in jail. The total cost to the state is estimated to be more than $14 million, according to the data. 'What are we going to do when these jails must have a 287(g) agreement with the federal government to hold people who are not rapists, murderers or people who have been involved in aggravated assault, they are just people who are not here legally,' State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D – Austin, said to Schwertner on the Senate floor. 'They are criminals, in the sense they are illegal aliens. The program does allow for expedite transfer to ICE to properly adjudicate those individuals,' Schwertner responded. Many opponents to the bill have pointed out concerns with the task force model within the 287(g) program. That model, as Schwertner explained, allows non-federal law enforcement, such as sheriff's deputies, to enforce immigration laws within the community as opposed to inside a jail. Some believe it will lead to racial profiling in minority communities. 'Are you not afraid of the potentiality for racial profiling by police if they see what presumably looks like Mexican or Hispanic people in a truck that they will not be pulled over simply because of the color of their skin,' State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, asked Schwertner. Schwertner agreed racial biases do exist in the world, but argued the sheriffs department and ICE would have oversight on who they place in a task force model. 'Through the 287(g) program task force model, there is training to address the concerns of racial profiling, there are procedures,' Schwertner said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pritzker to consider Illinois bill mandating gun owners lock up firearms
A bill that would require gun owners to keep any firearms in a locked box whenever a minor is present will soon head to Gov. JB Pritzker. Senate Bill 8, also referred to as the Safe Gun Storage Act, is the latest gun safety measure pushed by Democrats in the General Assembly. It passed the House 69-40, with Republican lawmakers warning that it could be found unconstitutional if challenged in court. The bill mandates that gun owners store their firearms in a secure, locked box in any place where they know or 'reasonably should know' that a minor without permission to access a firearm, an at-risk person or someone who is prohibited from obtaining a firearm can access the weapon. Gun owners who violate the act would be subject to civil penalties. The law would apply to both handguns and long guns, such as rifles and shotguns. Under the state's current criminal code, firearm owners are required to store their guns in a place that's inaccessible to a child under the age of 14 – SB8 raises the age requirement to a child under 18 and mandates that the gun must be locked away or equipped with a device making it temporarily inoperable. It also defines an at-risk person as someone who has shown behavior or made statements that a 'reasonable person' would consider indicative that the individual may physically harm themselves or others. 'An estimated 30 million children in our country live in a home with at least one firearm, with 4.6 million children living in homes with unlocked and loaded guns,' bill sponsor in the House, Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia, said during floor debate. 'We are all familiar with the chilling statistics that guns are the No. 1 cause of death for our children in the United States.' The bill exempts firearms carried on a person who has a concealed carry license. The gun owner also would not be liable if a minor, at-risk or prohibited person uses the firearm in self-defense or uses it after accessing it illegally – for instance, in circumstances like breaking and entering. The Safe Gun Storage Act also makes changes to a variety of existing Illinois gun laws, including a mandate that firearm owners report a lost or stolen firearm within 48 hours of the owner finding the firearm missing, instead of the current 72-hour timeframe. Illinois State Police would also be given the ability to revoke a firearm owner's identification, or FOID, card if a gun owner fails to report a stolen or lost firearm twice or more under the bill. If a minor, at-risk or prohibited person gains access to an unlocked firearm, the bill provides the gun owner could face civil penalties ranging from $500 to $10,000 if the gun to hurt or kill another person in a crime. A separate section of the bill allows for a $1,000 fine and a Class C misdemeanor charge against a gun owner if a minor under the age of 18 causes death or bodily harm while accessing a firearm without permission. That language previously only applied to minors under the age of 14. 'Safe firearms storage and responsible gun ownership are practices on which all of us in this room, gun owners and non-gun owners alike, can agree,' Hirschauer said. 'Safe gun storage can reduce unintentional injuries, suicides and intentional harm, like school shootings, by stopping unauthorized access.' Under SB8, if a firearm owner fails to store their firearm in a secure, locked box and a minor, at-risk or prohibited person illegally obtains the firearm and uses it to hurt themselves or others – the owner could be charged with negligence. The Safe Gun Storage Act also requires Illinois State Police to expand an online database that was required under a previous law to house all information on the make, model and serial number of reported lost or stolen firearms. By Jan. 1, 2027, ISP would have to make the portal accessible to licensed firearm dealers, who would be required to cross-reference the database to ensure any firearms they are selling or transferring are not a firearm listed in the database. Another aspect of the bill classifies anyone traveling through the state with a firearm that's prohibited under state law as gun trafficking – a felony charge that can result in up to a 15-year prison sentence. During debate about the bill on the Senate floor in April, Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andalusia, took issue with the bill giving Illinois State Police the ability to revoke a person's FOID card. He said that aspect of the bill would not pass the Rahimi test – referencing the 2023 United States v. Rahimi Supreme Court case, which ruled a court can temporarily revoke a perron's firearm rights if the court determines the firearm owner is a threat to public safety when in possession of a firearm. SB8 would allow Illinois State Police to revoke a person's FOID card, which Anderson said is in direct conflict with the Rahimi decision – which said only courts had the power to revoke a person's firearm rights. Bill sponsor Sen. Laura Ellman, D-Naperville, disagreed with Anderson, saying the Rahimi case did not exclude law enforcement from being able to revoke a person's FOID card. The bill passed the Senate on a vote of 33-19. A similar debate happened on the House floor Wednesday before the bill's eventual passage. Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, took issue with the bill's creation of a potential negligence charge for gun owners who do not safely secure a gun that's used by a minor, at-risk or prohibited person to harm someone. He said he believed such a burden shift to be unconstitutional. Hirschauer responded that the burden shift only applies when the reasonable standard is met – when it's reasonably found that the gun owner should have known to safely store their firearm – or, if 'some terrible negligence' occurs. Windhorst also raised concerns about the fact that cable locks, which are locked cables inserted through a firearm's chamber and out of the magazine well, are not considered 'safe storage' under the bill. Under existing law about storing guns away from minors, a cable lock is considered safe storage of a firearm. Windhorst said that conflicts with the new language pertaining to gun storage, which does not mention devices that render a gun temporarily inoperable. 'Under the criminal code of this bill where we are changing our current child access protection law, a cable lock would suffice,' Hirschauer said. 'Under the new Safe Storage Act, it would not.' He also argued that the bill impeded the rights of concealed carry license holders who carry a gun in a vehicle, as some firearms owners currently store their gun in the center console or glove box. Under the Safe Gun Storage Act, the center console or glove box would have to be lockable in order to render the firearm safely stored. Windhorst also voiced concerns that the gun trafficking charges in the bill could be brought against a person passing through Illinois with firearms in their vehicle that are legal in their home state – a point which Hirschauer responded to by reading language in the bill that expressly excluded non-residents from the charges. 'If someone is a non-resident of Illinois and is passing through and they are a legal gun owner in the state in which they reside, if that state doesn't have a FOID card system and if they are authorized under federal law to own a gun, then they would not be subject to this,' she said. Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Murrayville, raised concerns about the bill's definition of 'lawful permission' and its limitations on minors who hunt. The bill requires firearm owners to safely secure their firearm in a locked box when around a minor who does not have 'lawful permission' from a parent or guardian to access a firearm. On the House floor, Davidsmeyer asked what constitutes 'lawful permission,' to which Hirschauer answered it, 'could be several things.' When asked whether permission must be written down or notarized for parental permission of a minor using a firearm to hunt to be considered lawful, Hirschauer answered that 'hypothetical points are fact dependent.' Davidsmeyer said the question was not a hypothetical, and that it is an issue that will crop up in 'daily life' for minors who hunt. 'This bill, I believe, violates recent Supreme Court decisions under the Second Amendment and will likely be found unconstitutional,' Windhorst said at the end of debate. Hirschauer disagreed. 'Firearm theft compromises the effectiveness of our commonsense gun laws and often results in these weapons being acquired by people who are legally prohibited from possessing them,' she said. 'The reporting measures strengthened in this bill will give law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on lost and stolen guns.' Opponents to SB8 include the ACLU of Illinois, Illinois State Rifle Association and the Illinois State Crime Commissions; the Illinois State Police did not officially oppose or support the bill. SB8 passed the Senate 33-19 last month and awaits approval from the governor before it can become law. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas sheriffs would have to collaborate with ICE under bill poised for governor's desk
The Texas House on Saturday gave initial approval to a bill that will require sheriffs in the state to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through a program that grants local officers the authority to serve federal immigration warrants at their jail. The lower chamber voted 89-50 to preliminarily approve Senate Bill 8 after state Rep. David Spiller, a Jacksboro Republican who sponsored the legislation, amended the bill so it applies to all counties. The previous version only required sheriffs of the state's largest counties to enter the agreements with ICE. 'This bill is not immigration reform,' Spiller said Saturday. 'This bill is the strongest border security bill — indirectly — that we could have this session.' SB 8 needs one more House vote before it can go back to the Senate. The upper chamber must agree to the changes, or both chambers must iron out their differences, before the bill can be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott. 'Gov. Abbott has made it clear that cities and counties across Texas must fully cooperate with the federal government efforts to arrest, jail, and deport illegal immigrants,' Abbott's Deputy Press Secretary Eduardo Leal said in a statement. 'The Governor will review this legislation, as he does with any legislation sent to his desk that helps achieve that goal.' Under the proposal, sheriffs will have to request partnerships with ICE known as 287(g) agreements, named after the federal law that created the program. ICE can authorize local authorities to carry out certain types of immigration enforcement in local jails, where officers can be deputized to question inmates about their immigration status and to serve administrative warrants. In the field, ICE can authorize local officers to question people about their immigration status through a model the Trump administration has revived after it fell into disuse following allegations that it led to racial profiling. SB 8 would require that sheriffs enter agreements for the program that authorizes local officers to serve administrative warrants, known as the 'warrant service' model. But Texas sheriffs could also satisfy the bill's requirement by participating in the other programs, too. SB 8, which was filed by state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, would also authorize the Texas attorney general to sue sheriffs who don't oblige. Additionally, it would offer grants to sheriffs to help offset the costs of participating in the program that are not reimbursed by the federal government The bill is poised to be the most significant piece of immigration-related legislation passed by lawmakers this session. Immigrants' rights advocates have expressed worries that such a requirement will lead to racial profiling of Black and brown people and spread fear among undocumented Texans, who may hesitate to report crime or seek help from authorities who are working more closely with ICE. SB 8 could boost the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts, which have been hampered by limited resources and personnel. Seventy-two Texas law enforcement agencies — most of them sheriffs — had signed 287(g) agreements with ICE as of Friday, according to statistics published by the federal agency. Another four sheriff's offices in Texas had pending agreements. Roughly 20% of the agreements in place as of Friday between Texas agencies and ICE were for the 'task force model' that extends immigration authorities to officers performing routine police duties. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
