Federal funding could help equip Lubbock County constables under newly approved ICE agreements, Precinct 2 Constable Jody Barnes says. Commissioner Mike Dalby, who voted against them, questions whether taxpayers could be left covering the costs.
Barnes told Lubbock Lights the program could provide $100,000 for a vehicle after an office’s first immigration arrest, followed by quarterly technology and equipment funding.
Dalby said he lacks sufficient assurance that the county will receive the money or avoid additional expenses.
“I am not willing to gamble the taxpayer dollars on empty promises and no verification that the funds will be available and this won’t cost the county,” Dalby told Lubbock Lights.
Commissioners approved separate agreements for Constable Precincts 1, 2 and 4 on Nov. 9. Commissioners Jason Corley, Jordan Rackler and Cary Shaw voted yes; County Judge Curtis Parrish and Dalby voted no on each agreement.
The agreements use ICE’s 287(g) Task Force Model, which allows trained local officers to exercise limited federal immigration authority under ICE supervision outside a jail.
Federal funding and local responsibility
Barnes said the initial vehicle payment is triggered by an office’s first immigration arrest.
“It’s $100,000 for the first arrest,” he said.
Each participating officer then generates $15,000 in agency funding every quarter, divided equally between technology and equipment, Barnes said. He said funding runs through the end of 2028.
“It’s 7,500 for technology, 7,500 for equipment,” he said.
Continued participation requires public contacts through normal duties, including serving civil papers and evictions, Barnes said.
“There’s no quota, there’s no number of arrests required,” he said of ongoing participation. “You have to be making contact and working in the public.”
Barnes said an incoming deputy told him the agency he is leaving had received a $400,000 payment. Barnes sees federal assistance as a way to equip his office, which he said lacks body cameras.
Dalby questioned the documentation supporting those expectations.
“No guarantee that the county will be reimbursed for initial travel, training, credentialing, or expenses related to this agreement,” he said.
“Very few records are available to prove that payments have been made or that this program can be profitable and won’t result in the county expending funds to keep it afloat,” Dalby said.
During the commissioners’ meeting, Parrish questioned where the agreement obligated the federal government to compensate the county.
“So there is no funding mechanism in this MOA,” he said, referring to the memorandum of agreement. The discussion identified staffing and local transportation as local responsibilities regardless of reimbursement.
Federal assistance could offset county purchases of vehicles and equipment. Whether that produces measurable budget savings depends on money received, expenses incurred and purchases the county otherwise would have funded.
How an encounter would work
Barnes said constables already contact ICE during their work. The training would teach him how to address suspected immigration violations during civil assignments.
“We have to keep in mind that an eviction is a civil action, so we don’t have the right to question somebody the same way a law enforcement officer on a criminal call does,” he said. “It’s two totally different things.”
Barnes recalled six to eight encounters in the past year involving people he knew or suspected were in the country illegally before the program’s approval.
“But again, I didn’t know how to go about it from the civil side,” he said.
Barnes said a 40-hour course will explain lawful procedures. He cited a household where no English is spoken as a possible sign prompting attention, while acknowledging he still needs the training. Language alone does not establish immigration status.
He also described a facial-recognition app that helps ICE identify people and advise officers whether to proceed. ICE sometimes assumes an arrest at the scene; otherwise, a constable can transport the person to the county jail, Barnes said.
He estimated that transportation and processing could add about an hour. One officer could continue serving papers while another handles the arrest.
Dalby questioned whether the added duties fit the offices’ workloads.
“Constables state that they have too much on their plate already and have already asked for extra deputies. This adds more to their docket,” he said.
Barnes said hourly deputies would not need overtime. As the salaried constable, he would handle additional time himself.
“I will be the one that absorbs that.”
Constable Jody Barnes
Training, timing and operating limits
Barnes said his incoming deputy, scheduled to start Nov. 20, already participates in 287(g) at another agency. He was discussing transfer of the deputy’s credentials with ICE.
“He’s already certified, already participated in the program, already knows how to do it,” Barnes said.
Federal paperwork, credentialing and training remain. Barnes described an estimated 30-to-90-day implementation window, with holidays potentially affecting processing.
Barnes said his office intends to handle immigration encounters during regular duties. He has no current written policy establishing that boundary.
“I would not have a problem having one,” he said.
He also described ICE-led startup operations at other agencies in which officers located people while learning the program.
“How they show you how to use the app, they go looking,” Barnes said.
The interview did not establish whether his office would participate in a similar operation.
Precinct 3 is not participating. Barnes described it as the county’s busiest constable office.
Read Mike Dalby’s full statement to Lubbock Lights
- No guarantee that the county will be reimbursed for initial travel, training, credentialing, or expenses related to this agreement.
- Very few records are available to prove that payments have been made or that this program can be profitable and won’t result in the county expending funds to keep it afloat.
- Constables state that they have too much on their plate already and have already asked for extra deputies. This adds more to their docket. A question to ask: will they be able to efficiently carry out their duties as they were elected to do?
- I am not willing to gamble the taxpayer dollars on empty promises and no verification that the funds will be available and this won’t cost the county.
Questions or complaints
Local offices: To ask questions or learn how to submit a complaint, contact Precinct 1 at 806-775-1538, Precinct 2 at 806-535-2601 or Precinct 4 at 806-775-1537, according to the Texas State Directory. These are office numbers, not dedicated complaint hotlines.
ICE: Complaints involving delegated immigration-enforcement duties can be reported to the Office of Professional Responsibility at 833-442-3677, ICEOPRIntake@ice.dhs.gov or through its online complaint form.
For more local accountability coverage, read how commissioners approved financial reports while a disputed county salary continued. That story concerns a separate issue of county financial oversight.
