Some Dallas City Council members are responding after the city’s mayor questioned the Dallas police’s rejection of a $25 million federal offer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Dallas police chief rejected $25 million federal offer to help with immigration enforcement
It started with a “no” from Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux.
“No” to using Dallas police officers to find or detain suspected illegal immigration offenders by partnering with ICE agents in a federal task force operation.
Dallas mayor calls for review after police chief rejects $25 million ICE offer
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson has called for a review and challenged the police chief’s “no” to ICE, saying DPD could “use these funds to hire additional officers with no impact on the city’s budget.”
In a written message to the city council committee chairs, Johnson added that DPD’s involvement might provide additional avenues for “keeping criminals off the streets.”
Dallas city council member calls mayor’s memo “dangerous political stunt”
“The mayor’s memo, his memo is a callous political stunt,” said Dallas city council member Jaime Resendez, District 5.
Resendez, along with three others, issued a collective statement saying the use of police officers as ICE task force members would be “a betrayal of trust to Dallas communities.”
“The mayor’s memo is misguided and dangerous,” Resendez said. “If the mayor truly wants to strengthen public safety and government efficiency, then he should be focused on proven solutions.”
Dallas police chief prioritizes violent crime
“We work alongside federal authorities to go after violent fugitives, drug traffickers and more,” Comeaux said in a statement. “I want to be clear: we will not prevent any agency from conducting lawful activity in Dallas, but we will remain focused on our primary mission: responding to emergencies and continuing to fight violent crime in Dallas.”
City council members could discuss this collectively. The next city council meeting is on Wednesday.