Latest news with #Undocumented
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
KXAN's hour-long ‘Undocumented' special highlights investigative team's deportation-related discoveries
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Following the launch of KXAN's 'Undocumented' investigative project, our team saw high interest in and engagement surrounding the topic of deportations in Texas, leading us to produce a one-hour special highlighting some of the major takeaways and revelations in our stories. Watch the full special in the video on this page. Undocumented: Texas' immigration impact in a new Trump era Under President Donald Trump's renewed administration, Texas has emerged as a key frontline in the push for aggressive immigration enforcement. Texas residents – regardless of immigration status – feel the ripple effects in the economy, schools, healthcare systems, courts and public safety services. To better understand these challenges, KXAN spent the first 100 days of Trump's second term investigating this topic, crowdsourcing for stories and interviews, and compiling a comprehensive project about the real-life consequences of related policies and proposals. Take a closer look at the reports in this special below: Dozens of Texas police agencies sign 287(g) agreements with ICE Employers who hire undocumented workers are rarely prosecuted Some school districts see an initial dip in attendance at the onset of raids The state collects patients' citizenship status data during hospital visits Vacancies, political factors surrounding immigration lead to long legal waits KXAN Investigates Podcast: Central Texas mom fights for daughter's citizenship The following KXAN staff members contributed to this special: Digital Data Reporter/Producer Christopher Adams, Director Joy-Serene Adams, Senior Graphic Artist Chris Ayers, Senior Investigative Producer David Barer, Photojournalist Jordan Belt, Investigative Photojournalist Richie Bowes, News Director Haley Cihock, Investigative Reporter Arezow Doost, Graphic Artist Wendy Gonzalez, Investigative Reporter Matt Grant, Photojournalist Tim Holcomb, Investigative Producer Dalton Huey, Senior Director Forest Langlee, Lead Editor Eric Lefenfeld, Investigative Photojournalist Chris Nelson, Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims, Director Stephanie Soto, Investigative Reporter Avery Travis, Investigative Intern Talisa Treviño, Investigative Reporter Kelly Wiley, Digital Director Kate Winkle and Director Cameron Young. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘I'm just waiting': Texas immigrant among millions in years-long legal, administrative backlog
Under President Donald Trump's renewed administration, Texas has emerged as a key frontline in the push for aggressive immigration enforcement and widespread deportations. Texas residents – regardless of immigration status – feel the ripple effects in the economy, schools, healthcare systems, courts and public safety services. To better understand these challenges, KXAN spent the first 100 days of Trump's second term producing 'Undocumented,' a comprehensive project diving into the real-life consequences of related policies and proposals. AUSTIN (KXAN) — There are a few, small touches of Venezuela around Diego's family's house in the Houston suburbs. Family photographs capture memories from weddings and events in their home country. A mounted key ring near the door spells out the country's name and is painted yellow, blue, and red – the colors of the flag. However, when Diego thinks of Venezuela, he said he thinks of two different places. First, he thinks of the country where he was born, raised, attended medical school and became a doctor. He said, eventually, 'that country didn't exist any longer. It didn't exist in every single way possible.' EN ESPAÑOL: 'Solo estoy esperando': Inmigrante de Texas entre millones en años de retraso legal y administrativo In 1999, Venezuelan voters elected President Hugo Chávez to office. According to media reports at the time, Chávez campaigned on a promise to stamp out poverty and began to use a windfall of hundreds of billions of dollars in oil money to fund government-run improvement initiatives, such as public housing and health clinics. The country's constitution and its flag changed. By the late 2000s and early 2010s, reports show a global drop in oil prices – along with accusations of government mismanagement and corruption in the next presidency of Nicolás Maduro – pushed the country into a political and economic crisis that plagues it today. Since then, the United Nations refugee agency reports millions of Venezuelans have fled the country, amid a collapsing economy and a contested election. 'You kind of become, sort of, a foreigner in your own country,' Diego said. He eventually left on a temporary visa in Germany to further his medical training, although he said he always planned to return home to Venezuela. In 2014, he got a call from his father that, he said, changed his life. 'Out of the blue, your dad calls you and tells you, 'Look, I've got to flee because they were going to put me in military prison. I am a terrorist in the eyes of the Venezuelan state,'' Diego said he remembers. Diego's biological father worked with the political opposition to Chávez and Maduro – a woman named María Corina Machado, who has since become a widely-known political figure. After the call in 2014, Diego said he wasn't sure what to believe but worried that anyone with connections to his father could potentially be in danger. KXAN investigators chose to omit Diego's surname for this reason. After Trump immigration order, ICE 'force multiplier' agreements with Texas police surge At the time, German immigration laws required him to return to his country of origin in order to be considered for a longer stay. 'So, what are you going to do? You know, OK, well, I cannot go back there,' he said. 'There was no place for me to go back to.' So, Diego said he connected with a relative in the United States and started with a temporary visa, before applying for asylum. Then, he said he waited to present his case to the U.S. government. As of April 2025, he said he was still waiting for an outcome. Diego is one of more than a million people nationwide seeking asylum and waiting, sometimes for years, for their cases to be processed. The American Immigration Lawyers Association reports a roughly six-year wait time for the processing of an affirmative asylum – where the applicant is seeking protection and the government is not pursuing a removal case against them. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, processes these cases. According to the same association, people are waiting more than four years for a defensive asylum claim – meaning the government has initiated removal proceedings against them and their cases have landed in immigration court. In fiscal year 2024, the Executive Office for Immigration Review – the branch of the Department of Justice responsible for adjudicating immigration cases – reported nearly 1.5 million pending asylum cases nationwide. Laura Flores-Dixit is a managing attorney at American Gateways, which represents low-income, immigrant communities in Central Texas. She said long wait times do impact people's cases. 'It's very possible that the information and that the evidence in their case has grown stale. It's also possible that there could be changed circumstances in their country of origin,' Flores-Dixit said. 'However, at this point, they've now established their lives here and have been living here for a decade, right?' A line graph showing the number of cases pending in immigration court each year. The graphs reveals the backlog in courts across the country, in Texas and in the San Antonio over time. This graph was created using data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a nonpartisan and independent research organization specializing in data collection and analysis on federal enforcement, staffing, and spending. (KXAN Interactive/Christopher Adams) She said the backlog of cases for people seeking asylum or other legal protections against removal has been growing for nearly a decade – her entire career as an immigration attorney. 'Are you a US Citizen?' TX hospital patients questioned, state says millions spent on undocumented In 2015, U.S. immigration courts faced just under a half-million pending cases, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse – a non-profit organization at Syracuse University collecting and analyzing government records. By 2024, TRAC reported a record-high of more than 3.7 million pending cases. As of March 2025, the backlog had dropped just a bit, to around 3.6 million. Texas has the second-largest backlog in the country, after Florida, at around 465,000 cases pending this year. Flores-Dixit said cases from the Central Texas area seem to be moving more quickly through San Antonio's immigration court, which handles most cases from the Central Texas region. TRAC reports around 116,000 pending cases in this particular court this year. However, she said American Gateways is concerned about a growing backlog at an immigration court about 60 miles southwest of San Antonio. The Pearsall immigration court now processes cases of people held at several immigration detention centers in the area. 'We're talking about people who have been detained at times for six and nine months without even ever having a preliminary hearing,' Flores-Dixit said. She noted that they are seeing a rise in detained individuals asking to 'self-deport.' 'These are people who may have been living here for a significant amount of time, but because they have no criminal history — have no experience in being incarcerated, which is what this truly is — prefer to simply leave, as opposed to fighting their day in court,' she told KXAN. As the court backlog climbed to that record-high in 2024, President Donald Trump campaigned on the promise of 'making America safe again' and launching the 'largest deportation program in American history.' Within days of being inaugurated, he signed the Laken Riley Act into law, requiring federal detention for undocumented migrants accused of theft, burglary and any crime that causes death or serious bodily injury. By February, his Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem released a global ad campaign warning migrants to 'self-deport.' 'If you are here illegally, we will find you and deport you. You will never return. But if you leave now, you may have an opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American Dream,' Noem said in the video. Last week, the Trump administration annouced it would help pay up to $1,000 for travel costs to immigrants who self-deport. Migrant advocates told Border Report those considering doing so should consult with an immigration lawyer. How South Texas border communities have changed after Trump immigration policies enacted According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, crossings at the U.S. border with Mexico have fallen sharply in recent months. For perspective, from late 2021 to the end of 2024, the Biden administration had a monthly average of almost 187,000 encounters — 94% more than the around 11,000 monthly average in Trump's first two months back in office. During Trump's first term, illegal immigration at the southern border dropped sharply after he entered office – similar to the start of his second term – according to Border Patrol data. It then began to rise steadily, month after month, dropped during the pandemic and actually rose again in the months before he left office. It's unclear how this latest decrease will impact the backlog in the immigration system and the courts. Sheriffs and other experienced border law enforcement told KXAN there are a lot of factors to consider. 'We're just in the first 100 days, so we've got a lot of wait-and-see,' said retired Sheriff Clint McDonald. McDonald used to work directly on the border and has 42 years of law enforcement experience. He now serves as the executive director of both the Southwest Border Sheriff's Coalition and the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition. 'The immigration problem will not be fixed overnight,' McDonald said. 'It's never been worked on. Every administration has kicked it on down the road to let somebody else worry about. It's going to take both houses of Congress and the White House to fix the immigration problem.' Austin immigration attorney Mark Kinzler said this increased focus on deportations has his current – and even past clients – worried about their status at 'levels we've never seen before.' Inside his immigration law office, children's books and toys fill the lobby, while a corkboard with photos and motivational quotes hangs on the wall. Kinzler said his attorneys try to give their clients a sense of clarity, but he shared it's often difficult to predict how quickly or slowly a case will move. He noted that it can depend on the judge or docket where a case lands. 'So, I have people waiting 10 years, and also people are going to go next week,' he said. 'There's no real rhyme or reason to it.' Kinzler described some clients as being caught in 'limbo,' waiting for the government to file a specific document to send their case to immigration court or move it forward. He added that the federal government's changing policy decisions can also affect the pace of his cases. 'It's very Kafka-esque, right?' An April memo from DOJ officials laid out a plan to fast-track cases in immigration court by allowing judges to drop certain asylum cases without a hearing. The memo said 'adjudicators are not prohibited from taking — and, in fact, should take — all appropriate action to immediately resolve cases on their dockets that do not have viable legal paths for relief or protection from removal.' Employing undocumented workers in Texas is illegal, but rarely enforced The push to clear the dockets comes as some immigration courts across the country face vacancies. A study by the Congressional Research Service in 2023 showed it would take an additional 700 judges to clear the backlog by 2032 – essentially double the number of judges already working in the system. During the president's first few months in office, the Trump administration reportedly fired more than a dozen immigration judges and court staff. 'We cannot give everyone a trial, because to do so would take, without exaggeration, 200 years,' the president posted on his social media site Truth Social on April 22. 'We would need hundreds of thousands of trials for the hundreds of thousands of Illegals we are sending out of the Country. Such a thing is not possible to do.' The comments were a part of a longer post from the president critiquing the legal hurdles his deportation efforts have faced, including a recent Supreme Court decision temporarily blocking some deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. 'My team is fantastic, doing an incredible job, however, they are being stymied at every turn by even the U.S. Supreme Court, which I have such great respect for, but which seemingly doesn't want me to send violent criminals and terrorists back to Venezuela, or any other Country, for that matter,' Trump wrote. In response, leaders with the American Immigration Lawyers Association and other advocacy groups have publicly aired concerns about due process being undermined. Kinzler said the feuding between the executive branch and judicial branch over immigration issues raises larger constitutional questions that have people in his industry concerned. 'What that has created for us is chaos, as far as what we tell our clients. If we don't know what rules the government is following right now, we can't necessarily predict what will happen,' he said. Jennie Murray, the president of the National Immigration Forum, said polling shows most Americans would prefer a focus on solutions. However, in recent years, she said she believes the fight over immigration – and enforcement at the border, in particular – has been a 'political football' that has prevented any immediate solutions to the backlog or long-term reforms to the system. The National Immigration Forum describes itself as a group advocating for the value of immigrants in the country by pulling together moderate to conservative faith leaders, law enforcement officials, national security experts and business leaders, 'who all believe, from different for different reasons, that we need to have a balanced and thriving immigration system.' 'We absolutely are first in line, honestly to say, 'Of course, we need to have enforcement. Of course, we need to have security.' Every country should be allowed to secure their borders – to remove violent criminals who don't belong in their communities. So, money does need to be spent on that, and we always have. The last nine administrations, without fail – Republican or Democrat – have put money into that,' she said. 'You can have enforcement, but you also need to have personnel, technology, and then you need to robustly start to update the judicial system.' Texas students worry 'no one is going to be home for me' amid deportation push She said the forum would like to see a 'more balanced spend' when it comes to immigration — meaning some money could be diverted from enforcement to be used instead for personnel, technology and immigration judges or asylum officers. Murray explained the asylum system was not intended to process the amount of people seeking protection and safety in the United States as we have seen in recent years. 'We needed to overhaul our system, and we didn't. We are still awaiting decades-long updates that we still need Congress to act on. So that's one main thing: we had a humanitarian need that we weren't ready to meet,' Murray said. Murray emphasized that the Forum works to make people aware of the profound impact migrants have on our economies and our communities. 'We need to be able to speed things up so that we can have a more efficient and humane process,' she said. Flores-Dixit with American Gateways agreed that more money needs to be spent on upgrading the system and hiring personnel to clear the backlogs, and she added other 'creative solutions' would be necessary for comprehensive reform. 'As we continue to, you know, shift resources towards processing — that doesn't fix the underlying issue, which is that the immigration system and the laws on the books are broken and do not reflect the current needs and demographics of the United States,' she said. Diego told KXAN investigators he knows his case is complicated. At one point, he said left the U.S. to return to Europe for an opportunity to further his medical career. Plus, he has also been watching to see whether he may continue to benefit from a protection known as Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. According to the Department of Homeland Security, it may designate people from certain foreign countries eligible for TPS due to ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, an epidemic, or another set of extraordinary and temporary conditions preventing the country's nationals from returning safely. As of a September 2024 report, nearly 350,000 Venezuelans benefited from TPS, and Texas reported the second-largest number of TPS recipients living in the state, after Florida. Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced plans to revoke this status for many Venezuelans, meaning they would no longer have temporary protection from deportation or access to work permits. KXAN crowdsourcing initiative results in Texas immigration stories, interviews and understanding DHS, in part, cited a 'strong consideration to the serious national security, border enforcement, public safety, immigration policy, and economic and public welfare concerns engendered by illegal immigration of Venezuelans.' However, in March, a federal judge paused this plan, saying the government had failed to identify any 'real countervailing harm in continuing TPS for Venezuelan beneficiaries.' As for Diego, he said he would like to practice medicine again someday. He's been working in the insurance field in the meantime and tries to keep a positive outlook about the future. He told us he believes the United States is a great country and understands the system takes time. He told us he believes the wait will be worth it. 'I just like to think that this is going to pass, and I just need to hold on – hold tight, very tight,' he said. 'And when the storm passes, I believe, well – perhaps not me, but my children, my grandchildren – are going to profit from something that is great, and it's achievable for them.' KXAN Digital Data Reporter Christopher Adams, Photojournalist Jordan Belt, Graphic Artist Wendy Gonzalez, Director of Investigations & Innovation Josh Hinkle, Photojournalist Tim Holcomb, Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims, Digital Director Kate Winkle and WFLA Bilingual Digital Producer José Acevedo Negrón contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas lawmakers debate bills to curb illegal immigration
Under President Donald Trump's renewed administration, Texas has emerged as a key frontline in the push for aggressive immigration enforcement and widespread deportations. Texas residents – regardless of immigration status – feel the ripple effects in the economy, schools, healthcare systems, courts and public safety services. To better understand these challenges, KXAN spent the first 100 days of Trump's second term producing 'Undocumented,' a comprehensive project diving into the real-life consequences of related policies and proposals. AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Inside a climate-controlled storage unit just outside Houston is an almost identical layout of Jocelyn Nungaray's childhood room. Her mom, Alexis, points out all the small details she took into account when recreating her daughter's room, including how she hung the movie and video game posters that adorned her wall. 'Some of them are crooked because she had them crooked, but she thought they were straight and she thought they were fine,' Nungaray said with a smile. Nungaray visits this room weekly. She says it's good to be surrounded by the memories of her daughter and her belongings, some of which still carry her scent. 'It just makes me feel like she's still alive,' Nungaray said. Jocelyn was killed last June. Houston police say they found her body in shallow water underneath a bridge within walking distance of her home. Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and Franklin Pena, two Venezuelan nationals, are charged with sexual assault and murder. Her death shocked the local community, but its impact was far-reaching. Kim Ogg, the Harris County District Attorney, announced in December she is seeking the death penalty against the accused. Federal immigration authorities say the two men were in the country illegally at the time of the murder. Jocelyn's story gained traction across the country in the midst of a presidential election as Republicans ridiculed President Joe Biden's border policies. It's also inspired bills working their way through the Texas legislature. 'She said it, whether she was famous or not, 'everyone's going to know my name. I promise you, everyone's going to know my name,'' Nungaray said. Since her daughter's death, she said she has devoted her life to advocating for Jocelyn. Three months after Joceyln died, Alexis traveled to Washington D.C. to provide testimony in front of the House Committee on the Judiciary. In her testimony, Nungaray said the Biden-Harris administration's border policies were responsible for Jocelyn's death. 'The program the two illegal immigrants were enrolled in failed my daughter, Jocelyn. I'm here to use my voice and raise awareness of how broken our country has become with our open border policies,' Nungaray said in her testimony. 'As a U.S citizen, it shouldn't be a privilege to have safety in this country. It should be a requirement.' Her advocacy effort has garnered support from Gov. Greg Abbott, who highlighted Jocelyn at his State of the State address in February. He became emotional talking about Jocelyn, saying, 'Justice for Jocelyn demands action. I demand legislation.' At the state level, Nungaray is advocating for SJR 1, a constitutional amendment that would deny bail to any person in the country illegally who is arrested and charged with a felony. It is called Jocelyn's Law. 'I truly believe if they didn't want to be held with no bail, no bond, they should not have committed such heinous crimes in the first place,' Nungaray said. It is part of a larger push for bail reform at the State Capitol this session. Nungaray provided testimony to the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice. The bill gained bipartisan support in the Texas Senate, passing out of the higher chamber in a 28-2 vote. 'No family should have to go through what Jocelyn's family and others have endured,' wrote Senators Carol Alvarado, D-Houston; Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio; and José Menéndez, D-San Antonio. 'SJR 1, which seeks to address serious public safety issues stemming from judges who are not following current state laws on bail, is a first step to ensuring dangerous offenders are not released.' However, while that group of Democratic senators supported the bill, they said they still have concerns, issuing a statement into the Senate journal following the vote to express them. The senators said they believed the way SJR 1 was written at the time will be found unconstitutional, violating the 5th and 14th amendments. The group also hopes to change the language so it narrows the focus to violent types of crime. 'As drafted, the current language applies to ALL state jail, first, second and third degree felony offenses, making it more difficult for judges to prioritize cases involving violent offenses,' the group wrote. The senators also worry about how broad the language is concerning the definition of 'illegal alien.' As it is written, Jocelyn's Law defines an illegal alien as anyone who entered the United States without inspection, or anyone who entered the country as a nonimmigrant and failed to maintain that status before they are accused of a crime. A nonimmigrant can be any foreign person allowed to enter the country for a certain amount of time and for a certain purpose, such as a student visa. The senators argue the language should be refined to 'ensure that those who may have initially entered the country without authorization but have since gone through the appropriate legal processes to gain lawful status are not impacted by this legislation.' Their final concern deals with the Laken Riley Act, which the United States Congress passed earlier this year. It requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain anyone in the country who is unauthorized and accused of committing a crime like burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting. 'We must make sure that we are not shifting the cost of detention from the federal government to local taxpayers since counties are responsible for housing defendants pre-trial,' the group of senators argued. Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch is an immigration attorney and has been following SJR 1. She is concerned that local criminal courts will have to make decisions on someone's immigration status, a job she feels is better adjudicated in a federal court. 'Those are two independent systems and they should be independent because immigration is complicated and it's federal law,' Lincoln-Goldfinch said. 'I've represented people who've been accused of being terrorists just because they have tattoos. I've seen firsthand the way detention can be politicized. I, personally, do not trust the fact that that would not happen at the state level.' After Trump immigration order, ICE 'force multiplier' agreements with Texas police surge Critics of measures that factor citizenship into the criminal justice system point to studies that show undocumented immigrants have a lower arrest rate than U.S. citizens. A study from the National Institute of Justice – the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice – analyzed data from the Texas Department of Public Safety and found 'undocumented immigrants are arrested at less than half the rate of native-born U.S. citizens for violent and drug crimes' in the state. Jocelyn's law would need to garner 100 votes to pass out of the Texas House since it is a constitutional amendment. In late April, Gov. Greg Abbott made multiple appearances across the state to advocate for the measure. 'Judges in Texas, they have to decide,' Abbott said to a coalition of sheriffs who operate on or near the U.S. border. 'Will they enforce the laws to protect the citizens they serve? Or make it easy on the criminals who kill them? I think the answer is clear. I think if sheriffs get behind us across Texas, it'll be an easy one to get across the finish line this session.' The next day in Houston, Abbott acknowledged the political reality behind the proposed amendment. 'I'll' be honest with you – straight forward, there are 88 Republicans in the Texas House who I know will support this proposal, and to get it passed, [it] would need 12 Democrats in the Texas House to agree to this,' he said. 'So it's just a matter of gaining the support of 12 Democrats.' However, getting the votes in the Texas House is not the last step. Texas voters would have to make the final decision at the ballot in November. Over the past four years, the state of Texas has spent more than $11 billion to, as Republican lawmakers say, curb illegal immigration as well as stop human trafficking and the flow of drugs coming up through the southern border. President Trump promised to close the border and has even sent US troops down to the southern border. The number of encounters at the southern border have gone down: enforcement encounters were 11,017 this past March, a drastic drop from a year ago when encounters were 189,359 in March 2024. How South Texas border communities have changed after Trump immigration policies enacted But even with the drop in numbers, this year's state budget shows another $6 billion allocated for Operation Lone Star, Abbott's mission to respond to the southern border that started during the Biden Administration. Lawmakers also introduced bills this session to require more companies to use E-Verify when hiring. E-Verify is a federal system to help employers verify an applicant is eligible to work in the United States. Under current law, only state agencies, higher education and sexually oriented businesses are required to use E-Verify services. Senate Bill 324, authored by State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, would require both public and private employers to use the E-Verify system. The bill passed mostly down party lines 19-12, with state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, being the lone 'no' Republican vote. Employing undocumented workers in Texas is illegal, but rarely enforced The bill does have a companion bill in the House but that has not yet been given a hearing date in the State Affairs committee. Texas is in the process of building its own state-funded border wall. The Texas Facilities Commission is responsible for carrying out the initiative. In April, the TFC reported it has completed 61.8 miles of border wall construction. The initiative has $2.5 billion of funding and the TFC director, Mike Novak, said the agency is ready to build about 85 miles of wall by summer 2026. The state has faced issues approaching landowners to lease parts of their land for the construction, according to the Texas Tribune. A few bills in the legislature look to help the TFC acquire more easement agreements. House Bill 247, by state Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City, would give a property owner a tax break if they allow state or federal border barriers to be built on their property. Guillen said installing border security infrastructure on private land could create an unfair burden on landowners because it would increase their property value. It passed out of committee with a majority of support, 11-1. Another proposal, SB 316 by state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, would allow the TFC to use eminent domain to acquire land for the construction of the border wall. That bill has been referred to the committee on Border Security, but has not been scheduled for a hearing. True to what she told her mother, Jocelyn's name is becoming well-known. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge to the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge in honor of her memory and because she loved wildlife. Texas senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn filed legislation in the U.S. Capitol to codify the President's executive order. It would permanently change the name of the refuge about an hour east of Houston. But the connection of her name to Texas legislation has also brought some backlash. Alexis said her daughter's memorial, staged along the outer fencing of a skate park and right next to where her body was found, has been defaced. Nungaray, who is Latina, said she has faced criticism from the Latino community for her advocacy of the bill. She recalled a trip to Hobby Lobby where a store employee recognized her. Nungaray said the woman told her she was from Venezuela and apologized for what had happened to her daughter, but did say 'we're not all like that.' 'I'm just waiting': Texas immigrant among millions in years-long legal, administrative backlog Nungaray said the woman told her she is worried she could face deportation as President Donald Trump cracks down on the southern border and has promised to deport 'migrant criminals.' But Nungaray said she stands by her beliefs that anyone who entered the country illegally has already broken the law and does not deserve to be in the country. 'I would assume and think you would want to stay under the radar, to stay in a place you chose to come to. But when you put a target on your back by targeting innocent people and doing things with ill will intent, there's no excuse for that,' Nungaray said. If Joelyn's Law is to become actual law in Texas one day, it will be up to the voters of the state to make the ultimate decision. Polling has shown immigration and border security are a top priority for Texas voters. The Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin conducted a poll this past April asking Texans an open-ended question: What do you think should be the legislature's top priority? It was a tie for first, with 15% of respondents saying immigration and border security and another 15% saying the economy and prices of goods. KXAN Graphic Artist Wendy Gonzalez, Director of Investigations & Innovation Josh Hinkle, Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims and Digital Director Kate Winkle contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Are you a US Citizen?' TX hospital patients questioned, state says millions spent on undocumented
Under President Donald Trump's renewed administration, Texas has emerged as a key frontline in the push for aggressive immigration enforcement and widespread deportations. Texas residents – regardless of immigration status – feel the ripple effects in the economy, schools, healthcare systems, courts and public safety services. To better understand these challenges, KXAN spent the first 100 days of Trump's second term producing 'Undocumented,' a comprehensive project diving into the real-life consequences of related policies and proposals. AUSTIN (KXAN) — A soon-to-be mother didn't go to the emergency room for a concern weeks before giving birth. Instead, her first stop was a community reproductive health clinic in northeast Austin. Elena Colón said it's not uncommon now for clients with similar stories to turn up at the Luz de Atabey Midwifery Project, or LAMP, clinic with an emergency. She explained that since Texas hospitals started asking patients if they are a U.S citizen last fall, many are 'delaying care' or even 'avoiding emergency treatment.' EN ESPAÑOL: '¿Es usted ciudadano de los EE. UU.?' Pacientes de hospitales de TX cuestionados, el estado dice que se gastaron millones en indocumentados 'We try to make sure they understand the importance of seeking care when it's urgent, but the fear of having their immigration status questioned is real,' said Colón, the executive director of LAMP. The non-profit works to remove barriers to care and wellness among Black, Indigenous, people of color, immigrants, refugees and LGBTQ+ community members. Colón said along with handouts on prenatal and postpartum warning signs and clear instructions on how to access emergency care, they're also giving out 'Know Your Rights' information. 'It's just a very stressful time, especially for immigrant families,' Colón explained. Hospitals across Texas were directed to start collecting data on patients' immigration status in an executive order Gov. Greg Abbott signed on Aug. 8, 2024. Executive Order No. GA-46 required hospitals to start collecting information 'regarding patients who are not lawfully present in the United States,' beginning Nov. 1, 2024, including the number of patients and the cost of care provided to those patients. More than 30,000 undocumented patients sought medical care in Texas in November, state data shows The Texas Health and Human Services Commission, or HHSC, which is collecting the reports, released data in late April showing that in November 2024, hospitals had more than 30,000 undocumented patient visits statewide — about 2.5% of all patients. According to the data KXAN analyzed, hospitals spent almost $119 million on care for undocumented patients in that month alone. KXAN's analysis also shows, of the more than 1.2 million emergency department patients and hospital inpatients across Texas in November, a total of 30,265 self-identified as being in the country unlawfully – 2.47% of the total. Almost 1 million patients said they were either a U.S. citizen or in the country lawfully, 81.56% of the statewide total. While hospitals in Texas are required to ask each patient their immigration status, patients are not required to answer. About 195,000 patients — 15.96% — did not answer the question. This chart shows the number of patients at Texas hospitals and emergency rooms in November 2024, broken down by immigration status. The vast majority of patients self-reported as either U.S. citizens or being in the country legally. Source: Texas Health and Human Services Commission. (KXAN Interactive/Christopher Adams) The number of patients who reported they were undocumented is not uniform across the state. Hospitals in Webb County, home to the city of Laredo in South Texas, had the highest share of undocumented patients. Almost 15% of patients in the county self-identified as not being in the country legally. In neighboring Maverick County, 11.4% of patients were undocumented. Six other counties saw their share of undocumented patients above 5%, including Hartley and Moore counties in the Panhandle, as well as Dallas and Travis counties. Among the counties that had data, 49 reported no patients who were in the country unlawfully. This map shows the number of undocumented patients at hospitals in each county in Texas, as well as the total costs of providing care to those patients. Source: Texas Health and Human Services Commission. (KXAN Interactive/Christopher Adams) 'Now, Texas has reliable data on the dramatic financial impact that illegal immigration is having on our hospital system. Because of President Trump's swift action in securing the southern border, illegal crossings have dropped to record lows. Texas is hopeful that his efforts to remove those who entered unlawfully may also cause these healthcare costs to decline,' said Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott's press secretary. Hospitals are required to report the data to HHSC each quarter. Future reports will include full quarterly data, with the next one due in June. Annual reports will begin in January. The governor said the executive order was in response to then-President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' 'open border policies.' 'I think there would be every reason why the state of Texas would have the right to sue the United States government, because it is the United States government's responsibility to pay for any of the costs concerning illegal immigration, and Texas and Texas health care facilities should not bear that burden,' Abbott re-iterated to KXAN in April. 'We're not ready to give up': Central Texas Mom fights for daughter's citizenship The Texas Hospital Association, or THA, said hospitals have complied with the executive order by meeting deadlines and working with the state on clarifications along the way. 'The fact that hospitals are required to collect this data should not be a deterrent for people in need of care. Hospitals remain open and ready to serve Texans' acute care needs,' said Carrie Williams, chief communications officer with THA in a statement after the data was released. 'With 24/7 life-saving care, hospitals are required by law to treat anyone who comes through the door, regardless of ability to pay, regardless of their demographics.' Hospitals must inform patients that responding to the question will not affect their care. Still, immigrant advocate groups are concerned about the executive order's impact. The Texas Civil Rights Project, or TCRP, has been educating people about their rights. 'People are fearful,' senior TCRP attorney Kassi Gonzalez said. 'We have worked to put out resources to let people know in the community that they have a right to decline to answer this question about their citizenship status.' Shannon Jamrog, a U.S. citizen, told KXAN she clicked 'No Response' when she saw the question pop up at Dell Children's Medical Center in northwest Austin. She had rushed her son to the ER in March after he fell off his bike and hurt his wrist. 'I just feel it's uncalled for. I don't understand the point of it. I don't understand why any child needs to have that answered to receive care,' Jamrog said. The Central Texas mother shared a screenshot of the citizenship status question asked during the check-in process, which talked about the executive order requirement and asked, 'Are you a United States citizen or lawfully in the United States?' A box right under the brief explanation lists three response options: 'Yes — No — No Response,' which must be selected before moving on to the next step of the check-in process. 'You seek emergency care for your child and have them have their citizenship questioned when they walk in the door, it takes you back,' Jamrog said. 'Why does that matter? Who are you going to tell?' KXAN investigators repeatedly asked Dell Children's about the screenshot and the data that the hospital is collecting but was directed to THA. Other hospitals, including St. David's HealthCare and Ascension Texas in Central Texas, also did not respond or have a comment, except Baylor Scott and White Health. A spokesperson with Baylor Scott and White said it complies with all federal, state and local regulations and requirements and 'providing patients safe, quality care is always their priority.' At a recent hearing at the Capitol, THA told state lawmakers it had concerns related to proposed legislation that would make the governor's executive order law. House Bill 2587 would solidify the data collection and the rules surrounding it beyond the executive order and require hospitals to submit the data electronically. 'We would like the legislation to affirmatively state that we are not required to verify patients answers and then, due to the threat of potential security concerns among hospitals that treat a high number of undocumented persons, we will respectfully request that individual hospitals reports not be — be exempt from public information disclosure so they will not be targeted,' said Heather De La Garza-Barone, associate general counsel with THA during a House Public Health Committee hearing in April. The bill's author, state Rep. Mike Olcott, R-Fort Worth, emphasized care would not be affected but that the legislation is necessary. 'Since 2005, we've had 181 small rural hospitals close primarily due to uncompensated care,' Olcott explained. 'I know there's multiple reasons for that, and the goal of this is simply to know what percentage of that uncompensated care are due to people that are here illegally. I think that helps us make informed decisions on future legislation.' Texas lawmakers debate bills to curb illegal immigration While HHSC said hospitals are not reporting any individual information to the agency, some wondered if that would always be the case. 'There's no positive duty to disclose that information to ICE, but neither is there any guarantee that it couldn't happen,' said Trudy Taylor Smith, senior administrator of policy and advocacy with Children's Defense Fund-Texas, who testified against the bill. Smith added it would limit access to health care for children in immigrant and mixed-status families by creating fear that discourages parents from getting emergency medical care. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a similar provision into Florida law in May 2023, as part of a sweeping immigration bill. Hospitals in the Sunshine State were required to start asking patients their immigration status in June of that year. The state's Agency for Health Care Administration, or AHCA, has since released two reports, one with data for the second half of 2023, and another spanning the whole of 2024. In both years, less than 1% of patients self-identified as undocumented. This chart shows the number of patients at Florida hospitals and emergency rooms in 2024, broken down by immigration status. The vast majority of patients self-reported as either U.S. citizens or being in the country legally. Source: Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. (KXAN Interactive/Christopher Adams) Last year, about 26,000 people admitted to the hospital in Florida said they were undocumented, while 68,000 patients in the emergency department were not lawfully present in the U.S. In total, of the more than 12.4 million patients statewide, only 0.76% indicated they were undocumented, while 92.5% said they were either a U.S. citizen or in the country lawfully. About 6.7% of patients declined to answer the question. Miami-Dade County had the highest share of undocumented patients — 2.34% of patients there self-reported they were in the country illegally. Only three other counties — Lee, Manatee and Broward — had a share of patients who were undocumented above 1%. Meanwhile two counties — Madison and Washington, in the state's panhandle — reported 0% of patients were not in the country lawfully. This map shows the number of undocumented patients at hospitals in each county in Florida, as well as the total costs of providing care to those patients. Source: Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. (KXAN Interactive/Christopher Adams) Similar to the Texas' executive order, hospitals in Florida are required to report the associated costs of providing health care to undocumented patients. According to the state's report, Florida hospitals spent more than $659.9 million on 'providing care to illegal aliens across the state.' 'The Agency remains dedicated to fulfilling Governor DeSantis' commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars from being used on individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States,' AHCA Deputy Secretary Kim Smoak said in a press release when the 2024 report was published. 'The data confirms that the financial burden of illegal immigration continues to strain Florida's health care system. We will continue working to ensure that hospitals and health care providers deliver quality services to U.S. citizens.' The data shows the $659.9 million spent on undocumented patients is a tiny share of Florida's health care costs overall. In 2024, the state hospitals spent more than $86.8 billion on patient care. KXAN reached out to the AHCA multiple times to ask how the state plans to use the data and if any changes to health care access will be made. We did not receive a response. Democratic Texas State Representative Suleman Lalani, a doctor in the Houston area, has been watching the Florida data and, in an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News after Texas' executive order, shared concerns. Lalani said he's asking lawmakers this session why the state isn't spending more on preventative care so people have access to health and mental care before it turns into an emergency. He said the executive order only alienates the vulnerable. 'Texans are not coming forward so out of fear, they're not taking care of their illnesses, they're not managing their chronic problems, and it is becoming an emergency overall,' Lalani said, adding that it's also leading to depression and anxiety. Austin Public Health echoed those concerns, telling KXAN that ensuring accessible and affordable health care is 'essential for both community health and the sustainability of our health systems.' 'Whenever individuals postpone treatment, conditions often worsen, leading to more severe health issues that require costly or emergency interventions. This not only increases health care expenses but also strains our emergency departments,' said APH in an email. Health advocates also fear that psychological illnesses can present in children of undocumented parents, too. Dr. Damir Utrzan, a licensed family therapist, said while children may not always have the cognitive capacity to verbalize how they feel, it doesn't mean they don't have a grasp of what is happening around them. 'The reality is children who are exposed to adversity, more often than not, are aware of what's going on,' Utrzan said. 'By not being honest with them [at] a developmental age, that only serves to perpetuate some of the uncertainty.' Utrzan is a former refugee himself. His family fled the civil war in Bosnia and came to the U.S. in 2000. His professional experience is extensive: conducting asylum evaluations of detainees in ICE custody while working at Northwestern University's Center for International Human Rights; working at the Center for Victims of Torture in Minnesota, specializing in psychopathology, developmental trauma and torture rehabilitation; and consulting with the American Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association to draft affidavits and subpoenas during the detention of minors at the southern border. 'I'm just waiting': Texas immigrant among millions in years-long legal, administrative backlog If traumatic experiences aren't addressed early, they can 'become encoded in your DNA and get passed on,' Utrzan said. If left untreated, those internalized experiences can manifest outwardly in antisocial tendencies later in life. He gave the example of a young man from Guatemala who fled violence nine years ago. Utrzan performed a psychological evaluation on him at the time. Almost a decade later, the man is still awaiting asylum, and his lawyer recently reached out to Utrzan again for a reevaluation. 'Throughout that time, he was using drugs. He got arrested. We talked about how that unprocessed trauma and the inability to cope with contextual external circumstances leads people to self-medicate, so good people make bad decisions,' Utrzan said. 'But in the eyes of the law, or immigration law at least, it calls into question their moral character, which is one of the conditions of asylum or immigration in the U.S.' Central Health, Travis County's hospital district, told KXAN investigators that health care is a fundamental human right. 'Together with our partners, we're dismantling barriers to care, not building them,' a spokesperson for Central Health said. 'We fight relentlessly so that every community member receives the quality health care they deserve, creating a stronger, healthier Travis County for all. Because when everyone has access to care, our entire community thrives.' Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation at 17% — more than double the national average. Five million Texans had no insurance as of 2022, THA reported. In 2023, it said hospitals provided more than $8.1 billion in 'charity care' for uninsured people, with more than $3 billion not reimbursed. Most uninsured Texans are citizens, however. Texas 2036, a non-partisan public policy organization, said, looking at available data, out of about the 5 million people who are uninsured across the state — an estimated 15% are undocumented. 'Immigration status, in and of itself, prevents you from being able to access insurance. But what we also see is that friends and relatives of individuals who are undocumented sometimes choose not to take advantage of programs that they are eligible for,' said Charles Miller, director of health and economic mobility policy with Texas 2036. Miller pointed to recent research by the non-profit, which identified people avoiding signing up for programs out of a fear or 'concern that their friend, household member, neighbor, would have extra attention drawn to them.' He said they've been trying to push education and telling people that if they are eligible, they should seek resources. He explained, currently, about 2 million Texans are eligible for free coverage through the Affordable Care Act or children's programs like Medicaid or CHIP. Cost of care is why LAMP provides no-cost or low-cost care to up to 130 people a year through its pop-up clinic, telehealth and home visits. The non-profit explained it's now also making sure clients know they are safe during a time when they are fearful about their immigration status, emphasizing that no one is turned away. 'We prioritize creating a space where everyone who accesses our services feels safe and supported,' Colón said. 'Part of this is sharing clear information about their rights, including those related to immigration status, health, privacy and more.' Investigative Photojournalist Richie Bowes, Graphic Artist Wendy Gonzalez, Director of Investigations & Innovation Josh Hinkle, Investigative Photojournalist Chris Nelson, Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims, and Digital Director Kate Winkle contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After Trump immigration order, ICE ‘force multiplier' agreements with Texas police surge
Under President Donald Trump's renewed administration, Texas has emerged as a key frontline in the push for aggressive immigration enforcement and widespread deportations. Texas residents – regardless of immigration status – feel the ripple effects in the economy, schools, healthcare systems, courts and public safety services. To better understand these challenges, KXAN spent the first 100 days of Trump's second term producing 'Undocumented,' a comprehensive project diving into the real-life consequences of related policies and proposals. TERRELL COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – With one ranch-worn hand on the steering wheel of his all-terrain mule, Cody Carruthers pointed with the other at a small herd of his goats amid the scrub brush and cactus on his sprawling Terrell County ranch near the Rio Grande that carves out the border with Mexico. Terrell County is one of the most sparsely populated places in the country, with about 800 people living in an area the size of Delaware. Carruthers comes from generations who have ranched the rugged, unforgiving terrain with hardly a speck of shade in the scorching desert heat. EN ESPAÑOL: Tras la orden de inmigración de Trump, aumentan los acuerdos de 'multiplicador de fuerza' del ICE con la policía de Texas Carruthers steered the open-air vehicle – loaded with three KXAN journalists, his shepherd mix Sissy and his rifle – along the rocky path toward his high-fenced perimeter in early March. Cody Carruthers drives his all-terrain vehicle looking for broken fencing, a sign of migrants crossing the border a few miles south of Terrell County ranch (KXAN Photos/Josh Hinkle) 'This is a real hot spot right here,' Carruthers said. 'It leads in the canyon to where they can kind of, you know, conceal themselves.' With a bottom lip stuffed full of chewing tobacco, Carruthers pointed at another bit of sagging fence wire where, he said, migrants stepped while climbing over. Further down the rocky road, he located a square of fence near the ground that had to be patched after someone clipped the wires to crawl through. Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland brought KXAN to Carruthers' property as part of a tour of the area he previously patrolled for over a decade as a Border Patrol agent before assuming his current role in 2022. Cleveland, a conservative lawman, grew up in nearby Sanderson, the unincorporated town of 650 that is, by far, the county's largest community. The Texas borderlands have been ground zero in the immigration debate – a critical component of President Donald Trump's re-ascension to office and his well-publicized campaign to conduct mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. 'Out here, we typically catch accompanied juveniles,' Cleveland explained. 'That means they're with their father, their brother, an uncle. The vast majority are people who are no different than us that are coming to work … but there are those that have committed crimes in the United States. And of course, that's what this administration said they were going to target.' KXAN crowdsourcing initiative results in Texas immigration stories, interviews and understanding Cleveland said he has seen the worst impacts of immigration over more than two decades while working with Border Patrol in Arizona, New Mexico and, most recently, Terrell County. The previous four years were the most active of his career, he added. The border can be a 'sad' place, he said. He has apprehended violent criminals and people trafficked by cartels. A week before KXAN's visit, he responded to a call about a dead man found in the desert. It was a migrant who had succumbed to exposure after apparently running out of food and resorting to eating leaves and berries. 'Since I've been sheriff in the (past) three years, we've had a total of 31 deceased illegal aliens,' Cleveland said. 'The year before I took over as sheriff, they had 12 … If we do discover somebody and recover the remains and there's no identification and there's no one asking about that individual, then we will end up burying them in a pauper's grave.' In a far corner of the city cemetery in Sanderson, a section of dirt mounds are marked only by a granite slab with the inscription 'In Memory of the Unknown Persons in These Graves' (KXAN Photos/Josh Hinkle) Though border crossings have decreased dramatically since Trump resumed office, Cleveland is still wary of a potential uptick in unauthorized migrants in the area. He said his agency has had no drug seizures or related arrests in five years, but that could change. 'I anticipated we would start seeing more activity out here,' he said, suggesting enforcement in urban areas and other sections of the border could force more crossings along Terrell County's quiet, 54-mile stretch. 'I don't see the cartels just throwing up their arms and saying, 'OK, we give up. We're going away. We're not going to pass people or dangerous drugs.'' On a rocky outcropping overlooking the thin and winding Rio Grande, Cleveland said he was eager to renew his agency's partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – commonly called a 287(g) agreement – that allows non-federal law enforcement like sheriff's deputies to assume some ICE duties. Local officers with 287(g) authority can question migrants, issue warrants or arrest them for immigration violations, depending on their specific training. LEFT: Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland looks into Mexico in an area he said is known for border crossings along the Rio Grande (KXAN Photo/Josh Hinkle); RIGHT: Cleveland spent over 26 years in the U.S. Border Patrol before becoming sheriff (Courtesy Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland) TOP: Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland looks into Mexico in an area he said is known for border crossings along the Rio Grande (KXAN Photo/Josh Hinkle); BOTTOM: Cleveland spent over 26 years in the U.S. Border Patrol before becoming sheriff (Courtesy Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland) The 287(g) agreements are an effort endorsed and pushed by the Trump administration to essentially expand its immigration crackdown from the southern border to communities across the country. On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order directing, 'to the maximum extent permitted by law,' the Secretary of Homeland Security to enter into the agreements, which are named after a U.S. legal code created by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Law enforcement officials like Cleveland, and many other sheriffs in Texas, applaud the program and say it's necessary to protect the public. Critics, meanwhile, have denounced it as a costly effort that won't make people safer, could lead to violations of constitutional rights and stymie law enforcement's ability to work with immigrant communities. Since Trump took office, the number of 287(g) agreements has soared across the country – far beyond the Southern border. 287(g) agreements have proliferated across the country in 2025. KXAN has mapped the number of agreements for each state, broken down by the three types of agreements signed. Source: U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security data from April 2025. (KXAN Interactive/Christopher Adams & David Barer) By late April, there were over 450 signed agreements with state and local law enforcement nationwide – more than 320 signed this year. There are now agreements in Minnesota, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Wyoming and many more states. One reason behind the surge in agreements: some states have created laws mandating them. In 2022, Florida passed a law requiring agencies operating jails to sign 287(g) agreements. Florida currently leads the country with over 200 agreements – 75% of them signed this year, according to ICE. Last year, Georgia passed legislation pushing local law enforcement to pursue federal agreements, including 287(g). As the number of agreements has ballooned, so have the types of law enforcement entities getting involved, with city police departments and state agencies also signing up. 'I'm just waiting': Texas immigrant among millions in years-long legal, administrative backlog In years past, the agreements were used mostly by sheriffs' offices, which operate jails. This year, the Texas Office of the Attorney General signed an agreement, as did the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the Florida Department of Financial Services and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Texas has the second-most agreements of any state, with nearly 80 inked and several more pending, as of late April. The majority of Texas' agreements were signed or renewed since Trump resumed office in January, and none were signed during the Biden administration, according to ICE data. Texas is now on the cusp of passing its own legislation to require 287(g) agreements. Senate Bill 8 by Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, would mandate sheriffs' offices sign up if their county population exceeds 100,000 people. In an interview with KXAN, Schwertner said Trump's victory in November spurred him to pursue the bill. It is time for Texas to take a 'bold stance' on handling immigration, he said. State 287(g) efforts have the backing of the Texas' executive branch as well. In January, Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order directing 'all appropriate state agencies' to assist the federal government in enforcing immigration laws. 'In my opinion, it's an obligation of local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws and detain criminal aliens,' Schwertner said. 'That is what our citizens want. That is what is necessary to … make Texas safe and our community safe, and it is absolutely vital that we identify, detain, prosecute and deport criminal aliens that are in this country illegally.' The 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. The warrant service officer model has 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. The task force model is described by ICE as a 'force multiplier,' allowing local officers to enforce immigration laws during their routine duties in the community. Officers enrolled in the program travel for a multi-week training, and ICE installs a computer at their office to access federal information. John Fabbricatore, a former ICE field office director in Colorado and 287(g) trainer, said the training could take about four weeks. There's a push to expand 287(g) because ICE needs more manpower, he said. WATCH: Former 287(g) trainer John Fabbricatore discusses with KXAN Investigator Josh Hinkle the process for officers to become 287(g) certified. (KXAN Video/Richie Bowes, Josh Hinkle & Chris Nelson) 'It definitely helps out in, you know, being able to identify people in the jail that may be unlawfully present, that were illegally in the United States,' Fabbricatore said. 'It's a good opportunity for … the law enforcement to partner up with ICE and ensure a smoother process with getting those who are removable from the United States into ICE custody.' At a mid-March Senate State Affairs Committee hearing on Schwertner's bill this legislative session, several sheriffs echoed Fabbricatore's pro-287(g) stance, including Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn. Waybourn's department has had a 287(g) jail agreement since 2017, when he took office. Texas counties are already required to share information with ICE and cooperate on ICE detainers, due to a 2017 law that banned so-called sanctuary cities, Waybourn noted. Sanctuary cities restrain cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. ICE agents are already present and putting detainers on people in major counties' jails. The 287(g) jail officers 'make our community safer' by adding a layer of oversight, Waybourn said. 'It does get another set of eyes on things to make sure that people don't slip through the cracks,' he said. Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne, who serves as legislative chairman of the Sheriffs' Association of Texas, also testified in favor of Schwertner's bill. Hawthorne acknowledged some sheriffs in his association weren't in favor of making the partnerships mandatory. Hawthorne said he was concerned about 'unfunded mandates' and said 'the expenses for that program should be compensated, whether you're a hundred thousand or all the way up to five million, if we're going to mandate the sheriff to do it.' ICE said it pays for the training itself, but sheriffs in the hearing pointed out other costs associated with the training which are not covered. Hawthorne told lawmakers his county pays '$10,000 per jailer that are 287(g) certified,' while Calhoun County Sheriff Bobbie Vickery said the program 'could potentially put a very harsh monetary strain on our budgets every year.' Schwertner's bill provides grants to defray the cost for counties under 1 million people. Currently 36 of Texas' 254 counties have populations in the hundred thousands that would be eligible for such funding. The grants wouldn't apply to the seven largest counties in the state, where about half of all Texans live: Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, Travis, Collin and Denton Counties, according to estimates from the Texas Demographic Center. Law enforcement offices across Texas have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE. Click on the circles to see which types of agreements each agency has. Source: ICE (KXAN Interactive/Christopher Adams & David Barer) Schwertner's bill doesn't specify which of the three types of 287(g) agreements a county would be required to enter. As part of the bill, lawmakers are considering whether counties that receive grants would have to submit annual expenditure reports to the Comptroller and Office of the Attorney General. If sheriffs fail to follow the law, the attorney general could take them to district court. Hawthorne said his association was opposed to additional paperwork on top of immigration detainer reports that jails already send to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. The bill's fiscal note estimated a $1.4 million impact through August 2027. That cost includes multiple Comptroller employees who would be hired to handle the grant funds, but it doesn't include an 'additional indeterminate' amount for the grants that would depend on a legislative appropriation, the fiscal note states. In his interview with KXAN, Schwertner said his measure would protect Texas communities. There should not be cases of 'criminal aliens' not being detained for ICE and getting released on bond to 'commit further crime,' he said. 'That's just not acceptable to Texans, and I'm not going to stand for it. And this bill helps in this area,' Schwertner said. Texas lawmakers debate bills to curb illegal immigration Both Trump and Abbott have echoed similar sentiments. To support Trump's border mission, Abbott said in his February State of the State address, 'I have ordered Texas state agencies to assist the Trump Administration with arresting, jailing and deporting illegal immigrants.' But, while state and national leaders often publicly couple immigration and high-profile criminal acts, more comprehensive crime trends suggest otherwise. A 2024 report funded by the National Institute of Justice examining data from the Texas Department of Public Safety found undocumented immigrants are arrested at less than half the rate of native-born U.S. citizens for violent and drug crimes. The NIJ is under the Department of Justice and provides 'research, evaluation and technology' on criminal justice issues. The Trump administration deleted the NIJ study from its website, according to reporting by The Independent, but the report remains available through the U.S. House. Some sheriffs haven't seen an immediate need to be involved in the program. Burnet County Sheriff Calvin Boyd said his agency's agreement is inactive, telling KXAN '(we) weren't getting much out of it,' citing the 'cost, training time and resources' as challenges. Williamson County, which is in Schwertner's district, discontinued its 287(g) agreement after 2021. Williamson County Sheriff Matthew Lindemann, who took office after that agreement was terminated, told KXAN his main concern is the cost of sending a deputy to the East Coast for a month of training. 'Who's taking their place? Who's doing their work here at home?' Lindemann said. 'We're paying someone else overtime to fill in, and that was the concern that I would have — burdens that would be on the county.' Both Lindemann and Schwertner confirm they have been discussing the possibility of the county entering into a new agreement with ICE in the future. Fabbricatore said there is a proposal to bring the training duration down to a couple weeks, and Waybourn said he heard ICE was working to condense it into one week. Others in the hearing noted federal plans in the works to regionalize the training, too. But not everyone speaking before lawmakers that day was so supportive of the program and the legislation that would expand 287(g)in Texas. Krystal Gomez with the Texas Immigration Law Council – a nonpartisan group that coordinates policy work and gives resources to immigration legal service providers – said the agreements would foster distrust of law enforcement. '(That) can lead to decreased crime reporting, reduced witness cooperation and ultimately make our communities less safe for everybody,' Gomez told the committee. Trudy Taylor Smith with the Children's Defense Fund, which advocates on behalf of youths and racial justice, raised concerns about children and family members who have been 'contributing members of their local communities' being locked up in 'inhumane conditions.' Sarah Cruz with the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, of Texas echoed concerns about whether the costs to counties over 1 million would amount to a steep and unfunded mandate, along with other potential problems. '287(g) agreements have proved time and time again that they don't improve public safety and instead undermine it,' Cruz said. In the ACLU's 2022 study, 'License to Abuse,' the group urged the Biden administration to abandon 287(g) as a 'broken, racist relic of the past and an unproven, dubious, and often counterproductive public safety measure.' The 287(g) program has led to racial profiling, civil rights abuses and the 'erosion of community trust,' according to the ACLU. Schwertner said he would hope communities wouldn't want 'criminal aliens running around and causing violence.' The agreements make a difference in identifying those individuals, detaining them and 'making sure that they're held accountable.' On top of its other concerns, ACLU found the program lacked transparency. 'We do not know how many individuals have been arrested and deported as a result of the 287(g) program. A 2021 Government Accountability Office report noted that 'ICE admitted that it does not even track and cannot determine how many deportations and detentions have resulted from the program,' making the true footprint of the program impossible to know,' according to ACLU. That GAO report does provide some insight into the cost of the program at the federal level. From 2015 to 2020, the ICE 287(g) program spent an average $23.7 million per year, including about $3.5 million per year on technology support. In search of deeper information about the impact of the 287(g) program, KXAN found little showing how the program has been used over the past five years. ICE does share information on its website showing the jurisdictions with contracts and links to the contracts. The agency has also been posting monthly encounter reports with information about certain arrests across the country, but they don't show the full extent of work done under 287(g). For example, the March 2025 encounter report details only one arrest in Texas – a Mexican citizen arrested on a charge of sexual assault of a child by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. KXAN sent requests to over a dozen law enforcement agencies in Texas that had agreements prior to the new Trump administration. We asked for details of work performed under 287(g), including numbers of officers involved, arrests, costs and complaints. We also requested that information from ICE. At the federal level, most of KXAN's Freedom of Information Act requests from March and April remain pending with no timeline for completion. Most Texas law enforcement agencies only provided the number of officers trained for 287(g) work. 'We do not maintain a log or record of work associated with the 287(g),' said the Chambers County Sheriff's Office. Galveston County said it has one person working under the 287(g) agreement, and 'nothing responsive to the remainder of this request.' Several other agencies provided similar responses. Sheriff Cleveland, in Terrell County, told KXAN he wanted to be transparent about his county's 287(g) work, but there weren't records to provide because the jail enforcement model had no activity since 2016. Soon after we submitted most of our requests to counties, a spokesperson for ICE asked KXAN by email to stop sending requests to local jurisdictions and funnel the inquiries to ICE instead. The agreements direct local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE on media requests. However, in one instance, the Smith County Sheriff's Office provided information revealing how its 287(g) program works, including a copy of its standard operating procedures and a detainer list with names and nationalities of over 100 people jailed under the 287(g) program in fiscal year 2019. Smith County's policies show a list of factors that would prompt the agency to refer a person in its jail to the 287(g) officer. The factors include – among many others – if a person has no ID, struggles with English or has tattoos with a connection to a foreign country. Some experts, like the ACLU and constitutional law scholar Annie Bright, expressed further concern that constitutional rights could be infringed under 287(g). Bright, a visiting professor at St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, said the agreements raise a number of constitutional issues. 'There are very serious concerns about the lack of infrastructure, the lack of space, the lack of training to ensure that when somebody is arrested, detained, at the risk of being removed, that they're receiving due process of law that the Constitution provides everybody,' Bright said. Racial profiling could also be an issue, she added. 'How do you identify someone who is going to be detained for violation of the criminal law?' Bright said. 'Often, the easiest indicator is how they look.' In September 2022, following the ACLU's report on 287(g) highlighting the concern of racial profiling, the Biden administration's acting director of ICE released a statement saying the agency was committed to making its enforcement operations 'fair, efficient, and consistent with a commitment to the protection of civil rights.' But, even if a person doesn't 'look like what we think of as an immigrant, that doesn't mean that they're going to be immune from the consequences of an ill-trained or mistaken enforcement officer,' Bright said. Further, while it is a crime to enter the country outside of a legal pathway, casting everyone who does that as a 'criminal' is an 'intentional misuse of the term,' she added. 'We're not ready to give up': Central Texas Mom fights for daughter's citizenship 'There are plenty of studies that show that the immigrants in the United States commit crimes at lower rates than U.S. citizens,' Bright said. 'That is pretty undisputed.' Charis Kubrin, a professor of criminology, law and society at the University of California Irvine, has studied that link and wrote about it in her 2023 book 'Immigration and Crime: Taking Stock.' The 287(g) program is part of a 'devolution' of law enforcement – a push of federal immigration authority from the federal government down to the state and local level, she said. Other programs, like Secure Communities, the Criminal Alien Program, and the Laken Riley Act, are also part of this effort. 'The foundational assumption for the vast majority of these policies is that immigration and crime go hand in hand,' Kubrin said. 'I've done the research myself and also have reviewed all of the research in the field, and that is an incorrect assumption. That is a flawed assumption.' To improve public safety, the goal should be to arrest the worst criminals, she said. Since we already have the infrastructure to do that, 'what you're picking up is a lot of noise.' The immigration crackdown also, ultimately, comes down to resources. More arrests cost more money, so, Kubrin asked, will the investment be worth the return? Sheriff Cleveland says that investment is worthwhile, even if unauthorized border crossings are at record lows right now. Since Trump took office, Cleveland said the number of crossings at the southern border are lower than they have been in the past 25 years. Federal data backs that up. Federal border encounters on the U.S. southern border began dipping in 2024 – President Biden's final year in office. When President Trump returned in January, encounters sank to roughly 11,000 per month, a fraction compared to previous years. Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (KXAN Interactive/Christopher Adams & David Barer) State-level efforts have also buttressed border county law enforcement agencies, like Cleveland's, with their immigration control efforts. Texas has pumped roughly $11 billion into Operation Lone Star since 2021, deploying the Texas National Guard and DPS troopers to the border, according to media reports and Abbott's office. All of those initiatives combined have led to low border crossings, which is good news for Cleveland. But, he reiterated, the cartels could find new ways to traffic people and drugs in his area. 'I don't see numbers staying this low,' he said. 'At some point, something's going to … shift and start happening.' With so many partner resources – including a Border Patrol station in Sanderson – readily available, Cleveland said he hasn't had to tap his county's 287(g) yet. But he's considering how his deputies could soon recommence their existing jail-based agreement and possibly explore other models, in case ICE ever calls. 'It's just to have it available and ready if there is a need, and I foresee a lot of other jurisdictions doing the same – having it in place in case there's a need,' Cleveland said. KXAN Digital Data Reporter Christopher Adams, Investigative Photojournalist Richie Bowes, Graphic Artist Wendy Gonzalez, Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims, Digital Director Kate Winkle and WFLA Bilingual Digital Producer José Acevedo Negrón contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
