A day after ramping up the troop count along Texas' southern border, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is now focusing state resources on assisting the Trump administration with ICE raids in the state.
“Today, I directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to deploy tactical strike teams to work alongside our federal partners to enforce immigration laws throughout the state,” Abbott said in a written statement. “These teams will coordinate with Homeland Security agencies to track down the thousands of illegal immigrants with active warrants across Texas and deport them from our country.”
Some local law enforcement officials have been hesitant to get involved with the raids. El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas said they’ve cooperated with all local, state, and federal agencies in his 40 years but, “The police department doesn’t enforce immigration laws.”
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said his office hadn’t yet been asked to participate in any raids.
“Obviously we’re going to cooperate with the law, but we also still have to bear in mind that racial profiling is still illegal.”
ICE officials confirmed 84 arrests in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Sunday, another 12 in Austin, and there have been reports of ICE raids in Houston and San Antonio.
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