MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — McLennan County deputies will soon have similar authority as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after completing a one-week training, as part of a new task force agreement drawing community attention and protests.
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The partnership gives sheriff's deputies authority to arrest individuals without warrants for immigration violations, including the power to arrest anyone they believe is in the country illegally and "likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained."
Retired Las Vegas Police Lieutenant and founder of The Wounded Blue, Randy Sutton, said these federal-local law enforcement agreements are common, though typically not involving immigration enforcement.
"This isn't unprecedented at all," Sutton said. "Working in conjunction with different federal agencies has been something that local law enforcement and sheriff's departments have done for many years."
However, Sutton warned the new agreement could strain the relationship between the sheriff's office and the community.
"In the current environment where ICE is being utilized in ways that it's probably never been utilized before with the volume of people that are being deported, this has caused issues within different communities and has caused confrontations and a public relations nightmare for the federal government," Sutton said.
Community members have already begun protesting the agreement, expressing concerns about expanded law enforcement powers.
"I think the expansion of that is extremely dangerous in our community. I think the sheriff's department is going to have a bit of unchecked power if this goes through. I think that's really scary for everyone," one protester said.
Despite community concerns, Sutton emphasized the agreement follows standard law enforcement practices.
"It is not something that I believe is going to be utilized to terrorize the community," Sutton said.
The cost of this partnership to the sheriff's department remains unclear, though Texas Senate Bill 8 created a state-administered grant program to help assist departments with related expenses.
The McLennan County Sheriff's Office says it chose the task force model to save money and not create a new position for the agreement. 25 News reached out to the sheriff's office for more information on the cost, but did not hear back by the time of publishing.
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