Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson told CBS News Texas he’s heard conflicting information about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement 287g program that Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux rejected, along with millions of dollars in federal funding. 

In an exclusive interview this week the mayor said, “I’ve heard wildly different things about what the program does and how it operates.” 

That’s why Johnson said he’s looking forward to the briefing by ICE and Comeaux that’s being held on Thursday morning. 

“I want to hear from ICE, and I want to hear from the chief.”

“I want to hear from ICE, and I want to hear from the chief, and I want to understand what exactly it is that we are being asked to do by ICE,”  Johnson said.

The 287g program allows state and local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws under ICE oversight. 

What is the 287(g) program?

Since 1996, state and local law enforcement agencies like police departments and sheriff’s offices have been able to partner with the Department of Homeland Security to conduct some immigration enforcement duties through a voluntary program called 287(g).  

There are three models within 287(g) that departments can cooperate with:

  • Serving administrative warrants in jails.
  • Executing civil immigration warrants on behalf of the federal government.
  • Conducting limited immigration enforcement activities.

Earlier this year, the Texas Legislature passed a law requiring all county sheriff’s departments to participate in at least one of the 287(g) models. 

ICE asks to meet with Dallas mayor to discuss funding program

The mayor’s office said Johnson met with three top officials from ICE’s Dallas office back on September 4.  

They asked to meet with Johnson to discuss the 287g program in an email dated August 7, in which they said the program, “Enables ICE to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies to identify and process removable noncitizens encountered during regular law enforcement operations. These partnerships help enhance public safety and promote consistent enforcement of immigration laws, all while respecting local authority and priorities…” 

During a community meeting last month, Comeaux announced he turned down ICE’s invitation to join the program and $25 million dollars of funding. That’s when the mayor called for a council briefing. 

“That’s a significant amount of money for a police department that is trying to hire more officers, and that could use those resources,” Johnson said in the interview.

Dallas Police Chief cites concerns about operational change, city safety

Comeaux sent a memo to the city council last Friday explaining why he said no to ICE. 

“Implementing this program would reassign officers under federal oversight, which could negatively impact response times and erode the public trust that our department has worked diligently to build,” the email reads. “Committing to the 287g program would require an operational change away from the aforementioned goals, making our city less safe…”

In response, Johnson said, “I would like to understand if it does require an operational shift because I have received communication from ICE. I’ve seen emails from them that say their whole purpose in expanding this program or at least the resources available to it, is to get more participation without taking local police departments off of their local priorities and their local mission, and without impeding their ability to do their jobs.” 

CBS News Texas asked Johnson if he found out that the ICE program would require the police department to focus more on immigration and take officers away from their beats, from working with the community to prevent crimes and respond to them, would he agree with the Chief’s decision? 

“I think that is the exact right question,” said Johnson. “That is exactly the fulcrum of this for me. I would not be supportive of anything that took us away from our mission of reducing violent crime in our city. It’s the number one priority of the department. It’s my number one priority. I would not support and be in favor of us having our focus taken away from that. If we continue to do what we’ve been doing, but with $25 million in our pocket of reimbursement, essentially, then I’d be for that.” 

Johnson praised Comeaux. 

“I want to commend the chief,” said Johnson. “He’s actually doing a fine job of leading this department.”  

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