> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.huntsvillan.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Playing for keeps - URL: https://www.huntsvillan.com/playing-for-keeps/ - Published: 2026-11-12T15:39:02.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-12T15:39:02.000Z - Description: The Huntsville Police Department's recent agreement with ICE mixes immigration enforcement into regular police work. - Author: Steph Mamber Say what you will, Trinity County Sheriff Woody Wallace knows his audience. His department's [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/TrinityCountySheriff) is followed by 37,000 people – more than the [*Huntsville Item*](https://www.facebook.com/TheHuntsvilleItem), more than [Huntsville Texas Good Bad Ugly](https://www.facebook.com/TheHuntsvilleItem), more than [New Waverly Community News and Events](https://www.facebook.com/NewWaverlyNews), and wayyy more than [*The Huntsvillan*](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574229382407) – in a county barely one-sixth our size. Walker County Sheriff Clint McRae is [rather different](https://www.kbtx.com/2024/02/23/meet-candidate-clint-mcrae/). There is no Walker County Sheriff Facebook page, no posting, no community updates, no arrest videos, nothing. Newspaper articles and interviews involving him are rare. He does not seek publicity, and it does not seek him. But there are exceptions to every rule. One occurred in early 2017, when McRae [spoke with the *Item*](https://www.itemonline.com/news/walker-county-applies-to-house-inmates-with-immigration-detainersfor-feds/article%5Fb79c6c7e-175c-11e7-a08c-db9efeec2c0c.html) about his department's [potential agreement](https://www.itemonline.com/news/local%5Fnews/sheriff-mcrae-responds-to-aclu-regarding-ice-training/article%5Fcbf72b79-d75d-5b90-8e99-061c5f305b77.html) with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE. It would train four deputies "to identify people facing criminal charges in Walker County who were in the country illegally," who could then be transferred to ICE for removal. But the public need not be worried. "I want to make it clear that we do not have the authority to go out and enforce immigration laws and our deputies will not be out doing that," he said. "If we get someone in jail \[and believe\] they are here illegally, the training would \[let us\] run that person through the federal database and check them. "People who are victims of crimes... don't have anything to worry about. Their \[documents\] would not even be checked unless they were in custody for committing a crime. Our community does not have to worry about my officers hitting the streets and checking the legitimacy of our law abiding citizens." McRae's statements have fresh relevance today. Over the past year, two other law enforcement agencies in Walker County have signed much different agreements with ICE, which put them on the front lines of immigration enforcement. ## Local involvement with ICE takes many forms McRae formalized that agreement with ICE in 2020\. A related agreement followed in 2025, in which ICE identifies the person it wants, and designated jail officers serve the federal immigration warrant to that person after local custody ends. Both of these agreements are jail-based. True to his word, McRae's deputies are not on the streets checking the legitimacy of people who have not been detained for criminal activity. But the program under which these agreements exist, referred to as "287(g)", offers a third option which turns that notion on its head: the Task Force Model. In it, local officers authorized by ICE have immigration enforcement powers in the field. They can question a much broader range of people about their immigration status. A stop for a broken brake light or even a call for service can carry the risk of deportation. This more controversial option was discontinued in 2012, and then resurrected last year after Donald Trump took office. It came to Huntsville this past June, when the Huntsville Police Department signed a Task Force agreement with ICE. That department cannot now make the same promise that McRae did in 2017. Most sheriffs are required by Texas law to have 287(g) agreements of some sort by the end of the year, but the Task Force Model is rarely used in our area. It is found in only two of the six counties bordering Walker: Trinity and San Jacinto. Grimes, Houston, Madison, and Montgomery counties use the same types of agreements as McRae. No such requirement exists for city police departments. In our area, they rarely have 287(g) agreements of any type. Huntsville is by far the largest city in this seven-county area to utilize the Task Force Model. Similarly, local constables rarely have 287(g) agreements either. The only one in Walker County is with Precinct 3 Constable Steve Hill. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/11/data-src-image-e452367a-7079-43dd-84ad-21b1196af4a8.png) Note: the Jail Enforcement Model and Warrant Service Officer Model are the two types of agreements signed by Sheriff McRae, and described in the introduction to this article. Far and away, ICE still makes most immigration arrests itself, but the Task Force Model has netted [at least one detention](https://www.ice.gov/doclib/about/offices/ero/287g/monthlyEncounter%5FSep2026.pdf) by the Huntsville Police, in September. It is unclear what prompted the encounter. ## Downsides The main potential downsides of the Task Force Model are threefold: the diversion of officer time away from regular policing, racial profiling (especially of Latinos), and a loss of community trust. Profiling concerns were the [primary reason](https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/287g-program-immigration/) this model was discontinued nationally back in 2012\. Recent claims of profiling against one HPD officer have circulated widely on social media. A recent [blockbuster story](https://www.propublica.org/article/deportations-ingram-texas-287g-jaron-alexander) by ProPublica and The New York Times showed how diversion away from regular policing plays out in Ingram, a small town in the Hill Country. After the police department took up immigration enforcement, the number of stops for equipment violations surged. An immigration arrest involves more than time at the scene. Officers can interview and fingerprint people, prepare paperwork, and transport people in immigration custody. For HPD, the number of authorized officers, the time they spend on immigration work, and the effect on patrol coverage remain open questions. Concerns about community trust, like those of Sheriff McRae, are [reasonably widespread](https://www.policeforum.org/trending12apr25) among law enforcement officials. Residents should feel comfortable calling the police when they need them, and trust in immigrant communities helps officers learn about crimes and identify suspects. ## Upsides One major upside is financial. A [recent article](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/immigration-arrests-police-trump-f0ca5253) in the Wall Street Journal characterized Task Force agreements as a cash cow for law enforcement agencies, funded by a generous appropriation in the Big Beautiful Bill. Agencies signing 287(g) agreements [receive](https://www.ice.gov/doclib/about/offices/ero/287g/factsheet287gBenefits.pdf) initial stipends of $100,000 for transportation and $7,500 per credentialed officer for equipment, with quarterly stipends available thereafter. The City of Huntsville’s [current budget](https://www.huntsvilletx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/26328/FY-27-City-Managers-Recommended-Budget-Detail) has $300,000 in spending in a new fund called “Homeland Security - ICE SRF”: $195,000 for miscellaneous expenses and $105,000 for vehicles. It projected $300,000 in "miscellaneous revenue" for this fund, without identifying the source. It is probably ICE. But there is a catch: Huntsville's agreement with ICE puts most costs on the city, with no guarantee of repayment. With Democrats controlling Congress next year, the 287(g) program is likely to have fewer funds in the future. Financial questions asked of Mayor Russell Humphrey and City Manager Scott Swigert went unanswered. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/11/image.png) Huntsville City Council authorized the Task Force agreement with an 8–0 vote at the end of their June 16 meeting, after returning from closed session. There was no discussion in open meeting. *The Huntsvillan* asked each councilmember about their motivations for supporting this agreement and any concerns, inquiring specifically about financial considerations and community trust. We received a response only from the one member who missed that June 16 vote: Tore Fossum. Fossum stated that he supports HPD working with ICE and wants the agency to focus on “criminals and gangs.” Furthermore, “I trust the city police department to manage their manpower efficiently,” he wrote. “I do not care about financial benefits to the city.” Precinct 3 Constable Steve Hill signed his Task Force agreement with ICE before the city did, in September 2025\. He presented to the Walker County Commissioners Court about the agreement before the court approved it. The anticipated reimbursement of $107,500 is consistent with one credentialed officer. *The Huntsvillan* asked Hill questions similar to those asked of city council, about his reasoning for signing this agreement, finances, and potential downsides. We did not receive a response. --- Copies of all agreements with ICE in Walker County are below. [Walker County Precinct 3 — ICE 287(g) Task Force Model AgreementWalker County Precinct 3 — ICE 287(g) Task Force Model Agreement.pdf848 KBdownload-circle](https://www.huntsvillan.com/content/files/2026/11/Walker-County-Precinct-3-----ICE-287-g--Task-Force-Model-Agreement.pdf "Download") [TFM Huntsville PDTFM Huntsville PD.pdf6 MBdownload-circle](https://www.huntsvillan.com/content/files/2026/11/TFM-Huntsville-PD.pdf "Download") [Walker County Sheriff - WSO MOA - 2025-04-02Walker County Sheriff - WSO MOA - 2025-04-02.pdf3 MBdownload-circle](https://www.huntsvillan.com/content/files/2026/11/Walker-County-Sheriff---WSO-MOA---2025-04-02.pdf "Download") [JEM WalkerCounty 06-09-2020JEM WalkerCounty 06-09-2020.pdf3 MBdownload-circle](https://www.huntsvillan.com/content/files/2026/11/JEM-WalkerCounty-06-09-2020.pdf "Download") This article introduces **The Huntsvillan*'s newest addition to our Public Accountability Office: Joie Miller. Miller's Substack [A Duty to Question](https://adutytoquestion.substack.com) has investigated Grimes County's incoming semiconductor and chip manufacturing facility, among other topics.