DALLAS — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he’s investigating Dallas officials, accusing the police department of refusing “to comply with state and federal immigration laws.”
Paxton announced the investigation Thursday, his latest legal battle against the city. It comes after Dallas interim police chief Michael Igo sought to clarify the department’s policy on immigration enforcement in a press conference last month. That press conference came amid national media reports that the Dallas Police Department told people during recent community meetings that the department wouldn’t take part in any federal immigration enforcement actions.
Paxton, in a news release, said Igo recently made comments that raise “serious concerns” about the city and the police department possibly violating Texas law that prohibits so-called sanctuary city policies about immigration enforcement.
Igo, in the news conference in February, though, clarified that Dallas officers can’t “stop or contact any person for the sole purpose of determining immigration status,” per department policy in effect since 2017. Houston, Austin and San Antonio have similar policies.
Dallas’ policy is in line with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2012 that states only the federal government can enforce immigration laws and not state and local police. Texas lawmakers tried to get around that with a new state law, SB4, allowing local police to arrest people in the country illegally, but that law is tied up in an Appeals Court and not in effect.
However, Igo did say that Dallas officers will help “any agency in the arrest of a person wanted for a criminal offense, regardless of their immigration status.” But at the time of Igo’s news conference, he said Dallas officers had not been asked to help with any state or federal enforcement efforts.
Paxton, in his news release Thursday, accused Igo of saying that Dallas officers aren’t helping federal agencies detain people that are either documented or undocumented in the city.
Dallas officials said in a statement to WFAA that they’re “reviewing the letter received from the Texas Attorney General’s Office and will respond at the appropriate time.”
“The law is not optional. Local governments do not have the authority to disregard state and federal immigration laws,” said Paxton. “The people of Texas expect law enforcement agencies to uphold public safety, not to implement sanctuary policies that put our communities at risk. My office will take all necessary legal actions to ensure compliance with state law and hold accountable any local entity that defies its legal obligations.”
As part of Paxton’s investigation, his office requested all policies, training materials and communications related to Dallas’ “enforcement or non-enforcement of immigration laws, including any records reflecting decisions to decline cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”
Here’s the full letter sent from Paxton’s office to Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and Igo.
Last year, Paxton challenged the city over the State Fair of Texas gun ban, suing the city to prevent the ban from happening during the fair. A court upheld the ban, but Paxton said he would continue fighting it.