McLennan County commissioners will vote on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agreement, affecting local immigration enforcement. The vote, slated for Tuesday Jan. 6, highlights ongoing debates about local law enforcement's role in federal immigration policy.
- McLennan County commissioners will vote Tuesday on an ICE agreement giving the sheriff's office authority to arrest immigrants without warrants
- Under the proposed deal, deputies would call an ICE hotline when encountering someone they believe is in the country illegally, then make arrests based on ICE guidance
- Community advocate Jessica Moreno raises concerns about potential racial profiling and damage to trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities
- Sheriff Parnell McNamara says the department won't conduct door-to-door searches and doesn't engage in racial profiling
You can watch the full story here:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
McLennan County commissioners will vote Tuesday on an agreement that would give the sheriff's office more authority to arrest immigrants who are in the country illegally.
The proposed agreement between the McLennan County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would allow deputies to make arrests without warrants in certain immigration cases.
"We don't want to violate anybody's rights, that's the last thing we want to do, we're merely enforcing the law," McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said.
The vote centers on following Senate Bill 8, McNamara said. Under the proposed agreement, when deputies encounter someone they believe to be in the country illegally, they would call an ICE hotline for guidance on next steps.
"It's an instanter arrest, if they're illegal, if we determine they are, with the assistance of ICE, and we have the authority at that point to go ahead and make the arrest and place them in jail," McNamara said.
McNamara emphasized the department would not conduct door-to-door searches.
"It's not a thing where the sheriff's office is going to be going out knocking on doors, dragging people out, we're not going to do that," he said.
Community advocate Jessica Moreno expressed concerns about the agreement's potential impact on immigrant communities and the possibility of racial profiling.
"The most important thing, yes, it's public safety, but also protecting our immigrant communities here. And what this does, it's bringing a lot of power. I think what's also more important right now is to really see if they are gonna be creating policies that help prevent any racial profiling," Moreno said.
McNamara said racial profiling would not be an issue under the agreement.
"We do not racially profile, that's not allowed in this department," he said.
If commissioners approve the agreement, sheriff's office deputies would be required to complete 40 hours of ICE training.
When 25 News reporter Dominique Leh asked Sheriff Parnell McNamara to break down what the agreement means he responded with the following:
Leh also asked the following question:
"One person I was talking to earlier was like, 'this opens up for racial profiling', how do you feel about some community members feeling that way?"
His response can be seen below:
More details on the agreement and the vote on Tuesday, Jan. 6 can be found here.
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