“Underground Railroad” of East Texas: A Modern Map of Immigration Enforcement

TYLER, Texas (TXAN 24) — A quiet network is forming across East Texas but not one marked by safe houses or secret codes, but by law enforcement agreements with ICE. Known as 287(g) agreements, these deals allow local sheriffs and jail officers to act as federal immigration agents; effectively extending ICE’s reach deep into Texas counties.

Under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, local agencies sign “Memorandums of Agreement” that deputize officers to identify, detain, and transfer undocumented individuals to ICE custody. The map of these counties now forms what some advocates are calling a “modern Underground Railroad,” except this time, the routes run in reverse.

Each county operates under a different enforcement model.

• Warrant Service Officer Model: Local officers arrest and detain immigrants on ICE warrants.

• Jail Enforcement Model: Officers investigate immigration history and coordinate transfers from within local jails.

• Task Force Model: Allows full street-level enforcement; the broadest authority possible under the program.

Critics warn these agreements blur lines between local policing and federal immigration policy, while supporters say they strengthen border security.

Dalila Reynoso with Texas Jail Project said “We are seeing first hand our local law enforcement is colluding with ICE, these agreements sow distrust in our community and ripping families apart. We must continue to advocate against cruel enforcement policies and expose the fear-mongering for what it really is. I have seen it myself—working in the criminal  and immigration systems when they overlap each other. There has a lot of similarities to the days of the Underground Railroad.”

Either way, the 287(g) map reveals a new kind of underground system; one running through the jails and backroads of East Texas.