{"id":860759,"date":"2026-06-11T21:49:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T21:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/860759\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T21:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T21:49:13","slug":"bexar-county-constable-says-office-halted-ice-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/860759\/","title":{"rendered":"Bexar County constable says office halted ICE partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Bexar County constable\u2019s office that was among the first local agencies to sign up for an expanded federal immigration enforcement partnership<\/a> never completed the training required to implement the program after opposition emerged from both the public and county officials, according to Precinct 3 Constable Mark Vojvodich.<\/p>\n

The 287(g) program<\/a>, established through the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1996,<\/a> allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to train and authorize state and local law enforcement officers to assist with certain immigration enforcement functions. Agencies that do not operate jails, such as constables\u2019 offices and municipal police departments, participate through what is known as the \u201ctask force model,\u201d the most expansive version of the program.<\/p>\n

The model allows trained officers to assist with certain immigration enforcement functions during routine law enforcement encounters. Earlier this year, the San Antonio Report reported that Bexar County\u2019s Precinct 3 Constable\u2019s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, Balcones Heights Police Department and several smaller municipal agencies had entered task force model agreements<\/a> as federal officials pushed to rapidly expand the program nationwide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Vojvodich said his office signed the memorandum of agreement in January and was preparing to move forward with training before deciding to stop the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stopped it at that point in time because we had seen multiple people on Commissioners Court speaking against the program,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd to go further forward with the training and the reimbursement, we would have had to have Commissioners Court approval, and we knew we weren\u2019t going to get that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, Vojvodich cited large community turnout in opposition of Immigration enforcement efforts<\/a> as a signal of the dwindling possibility of approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a meeting where we had tons, maybe 40 or 50 people, and they\u2019re speaking against it in the commissioners court,\u201d he said. \u201c We can read the tea leaves. \u2029We know that we\u2019re not going to get that, so we never put it in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The constable had previously cited federal reimbursement opportunities as one factor<\/a> in entering the agreement. He said the office could have received roughly $180,000 after completing officer training and as much as $300,000 after making a qualifying immigration-related arrest under the program.<\/p>\n

The constable has maintained that his office never intended to proactively seek out undocumented immigrants and instead viewed the agreement as a way to formalize cooperation that was already occurring during routine law enforcement activities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still call ICE\u201d when immigration issues arise during arrests for other offenses, he said. \u201cThe difference now is we don\u2019t get paid for it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vojvodich said changes made to the program since January have also reduced his interest in pursuing participation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve kind of changed the program, and we probably wouldn\u2019t even apply for it at this point in time, even if they gave us permission,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His comments come as local debate over immigration enforcement continues amid opposition<\/a> to a planned ICE detention facility on San Antonio\u2019s East Side.<\/a> The facility, which ICE says could be operational by late 2026<\/a>, has drawn criticism from San Antonio City Council members, community activists and Bexar County officials.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the county confirmed the county has not received any update on the status of the proposed detention center. City officials said there was no new information to be shared.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not provide an update on the current status of the facility. Instead they provided the following statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals. As Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin said in his confirmation hearing: \u2018I will work with the community leaders and make sure that we are delivering for the American people what the President set out\u2026 We want to work with community leaders. We want to be good partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

The broader expansion of 287(g) agreements has continued despite that opposition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since January, the China Grove Police Department, Hollywood Park Police Department, St. Hedwig Marshal\u2019s Office and most recently the Sandy Oaks Police Department have entered task force model agreements with ICE.<\/a><\/p>\n

The San Antonio Report contacted participating agencies this week seeking updated information on training and implementation. Hollywood Park and Balcones Heights officials confirmed their continued participation. Other agencies either did not respond or did not provide updated participation information by time of publication.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While local police departments and constables can choose whether to participate in 287(g), state law requires most county sheriffs<\/a> and jail operators to join the program. The Bexar County Sheriff\u2019s Office has done so under its most limited model, which applies only inside the county jail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Bexar County constable\u2019s office that was among the first local agencies to sign up for an expanded…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":860760,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5133],"tags":[47029,5229,221884,24545,7288,351120,93020,351121,2398,5412,289701,85009,351122,221887,73468,351123,7202,7203,351124,351125,358,42653,7453,3187,7815,2065,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7819],"class_list":["post-860759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-287-g","tag-america","tag-balcones-heights-police-department","tag-bcso","tag-bexar-county","tag-china-grover-police-department","tag-commissioners-court","tag-county-constable","tag-department-of-homeland-security","tag-dhs","tag-hollywood-park-police-department","tag-ice-detention","tag-immigation-and-nationality-act-of-1996","tag-mark-vojvodich","tag-precinct-3","tag-precinct-3-constable","tag-san-antonio","tag-sanantonio","tag-sandy-oaks-police-department","tag-st-hedwigs-marshals-office","tag-texas","tag-texas-department-of-public-safety","tag-top-story","tag-tx","tag-typedaily","tag-u-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-wc-500-750"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}