U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is advancing a proposal to establish a privately-operated, around-the-clock transportation system across Texas. This initiative is projected to strengthen Texas as a critical hub for a systematic deportation network, funneling detained immigrants from 254 counties into ICE facilities statewide.
Planning documents reviewed indicate that this transport grid would facilitate regular detainee transfers, with each journey averaging about 100 miles. Under the proposal, every county in Texas would host a small, continuous team of armed contractors tasked with collecting immigrants from local authorities that have been vested with ICE’s authority. This transition effectively shifts the custody of these immigrants to private entities authorized to carry firearms and manage transport operations at various state and ICE locations.
This proposal comes as part of a broader push by the Trump administration to ramp up interior immigration enforcement. Over the past year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which supervises ICE, has invested heavily in detention contracts, revived agreements allowing local police to assist in immigration enforcement, and directed ICE to increase deportations domestically. The transportation strategy aligns with this initiative, aiming to optimize the process of moving detainees quickly and efficiently, with a reduced visible federal presence.
ICE recently issued a "Transportation Support for Texas" market probe that outlines staffing requirements, vehicle availability, and response times for prospective vendors. The draft suggests setting up 254 transport hubs across Texas, each manned by two armed contractors around the clock. The document specifies that contractor vehicles must respond within 30 minutes and maintain an operational readiness rate of 80% across three daily shifts. As calculated, this would necessitate over 2,000 full-time staff and a considerable fleet of vehicles available at all hours.
This plan marks a significant shift, as ICE appears poised to delegate much of the logistics of deportation to private contractors, effectively becoming a supervisory agency that establishes protocols and standards. The operation is set within a legal framework strengthened by the Texas legislature, including Senate Bill 8, which mandates that county sheriffs entering into jail administration agreements with ICE must implement a 287(g) program fostering cooperation with federal authorities. This law goes into effect at the start of the new year.
Under the 287(g) model, local law enforcement can screen and process immigrants for ICE within jails, execute administrative warrants on detainees, or actively seek out undocumented immigrants during routine policing activities. The rise of these agreements under the Trump administration has seen a drastic increase, with over a thousand local enforcement agencies now partnered with ICE.
Financial incentives for local law enforcement agencies participating in the 287(g) program further promote compliance; federal funds can cover salaries and operational costs for deputized officers, with potential bonuses linked to arrest performance. These developments suggest that Texas is on the verge of functioning as a de facto extension of federal immigration enforcement, integrating it seamlessly into everyday law enforcement practices and undermining the concept of state sovereignty in favor of national immigration policy.
