Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson wants the City Council to explore the financial benefits of participating in the controversial 287(g) program, established by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which allows police officers to help enforce immigration laws, according to a memo obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
Earlier this week, Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux, a former federal agent, told members of the Community Police Oversight Board that he had turned down a $25 million offer by ICE to participate in the enforcement program. The funds would have covered reimbursements and operational costs.
“We were contacted by the federal government, I think it was last week, or within the last two weeks, and we were offered $25 million to be a part of 287(g), and we said, absolutely not — no,” Comeaux said during Tuesday’s meeting. “That was me who said that. Turned it down.”
But Comeaux’s unilateral decision appears not to have sat well with Johnson, who sent a memo Friday, directing council members Cara Mendelsohn and Maxie Johnson, chairs of the public safety and government efficiency committee, to convene a joint meeting with ICE representatives and Comeaux to discuss the merits of the program.
Political Points
“Clearly, participation in ICE’s Task Force Model could provide significant financial benefits to the city,” Johnson said in his memo, adding that the police department could use the federal funds to hire additional officers with no impact on the city’s budget.
“Dallas might be forfeiting significant direct financial benefits by declining ICE’s offer,” he said.
The city is on the hook to maintain a police force of 4,000 officers and increase hiring after voters approved ballot measures last year that also opened the city up to more lawsuits. City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert responded by bolstering payments to the police department. This week, city officials highlighted that they had exceeded their annual goals and hired 330 recruits and officers.
This also comes nearly a month after a gunman opened fire at an ICE facility in Dallas and killed two migrant detainees and wounded another.
Mendelsohn did not respond to a request for comment. Johnson, the District 4 council member, said he could not comment as he had not yet reviewed the memo and was not aware of Comeaux’s comments at the Community Police Oversight Board on Tuesday.
Mayor Johnson, in his memo, said the program could act as a “force multiplier” and give the police department a way to deploy additional resources to reduce violent crime. The program has three models: two are enforced in jails, and one allows local law enforcement officers to inquire about an individual’s immigration status while out on routine patrol.
In his letter, Johnson said the model that focuses on officers working in the field, known as the task force model, is “applicable to the Dallas Police Department.” President Donald Trump’s administration has attempted to increase participation in the 287(g) program as part of the “mass deportation” campaign he ran on.
Council member Jaime Resendez, who is part of the government efficiency committee, said the mayor’s memo was “misguided and dangerous.”
The federal program, he said, had a troubling history of racial profiling, lawsuits and fear in immigrant communities. “The mayor knows that this is a politically charged topic, and it’s going to generate strong reactions, and it does more to divide our city than it helps the city overall, including public safety and efficiency,” he said.
In his memo, the mayor positioned public safety and efficiency as two of his highest mayoral priorities. Johnson ended his memo with a familiar refrain, “Thank you for your attention to this matter,” echoing sign-offs from Trump.
“He wants to come across as nice, and he was careful with that tone,” Resendez said about Johnson’s memo.
“But for those people that are in the know, and for somebody like me, who has served with him closely since 2019, we know that he’s self-serving. We know that he only cares about doing something positive insofar as it benefits him,” he said.
For the past two weeks, speculation of whether Johnson would continue serving as mayor dominated City Hall. He rebutted rumors and said he would not be resigning and running for a higher office.
Comeaux did not respond to a text message seeking comment Friday. During Tuesday’s meeting, Comeaux provided few details of his meeting with the federal government, revealing that it had taken place within the last couple of weeks. Comeaux did not say which model or models he discussed with the federal government or who he met with. He also did not reveal why he declined the offer.
Members of the oversight board also did not ask follow-up questions, and a spokesperson for the Dallas Police Department did not answer questions Wednesday after the meeting.
“I think that this is going to be one of many instances where the mayor is going to be reminded that he’s in the minority of this governing body,” said council member Adam Bazaldua, also a member of the government efficiency committee.
“I’m not quite sure what it’s meant to accomplish, other than to attempt to get attention from the (Trump) administration and other political leaders,” he said, adding that it doesn’t make sense to go into the federal program and further strain resources when the police department is still plagued with lagging response times.
On Friday, an ICE spokesperson issued a statement regarding Comeaux’s comments on Tuesday. The statement was issued before Johnson’s letter became public and did not reveal specifications on the meeting Comeaux had with members of the federal government.
“We cannot speak to details of an alleged phone call, but ICE’s 287(g) program empowers state and local law enforcement officers to remove dangerous criminal aliens from their communities once and for all,” the statement said. “This acts as a force multiplier, and we welcome local and state law enforcement as partners in reducing illegal alien crime.”
In his letter, Johnson pointed to a law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott – Senate Bill 8 – that will require more partnerships with ICE.
“Now, under SB 8, almost all Texas counties – including Dallas County – are required to participate,” Johnson wrote.
SB 8 requires every Texas sheriff’s office with a jail to sign a 287(g) agreement with the federal government by Dec. 1, 2026. The law does not affect city police departments.