Texas attorney general investigates Dallas for alleged sanctuary city policies

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Attorney General Ken Paxton said Thursday that his office is investigating the city of Dallas, whose police department he accused of refusing to comply with state and federal immigration laws.

Paxton pointed to widely reported comments in February by Dallas Interim Police Chief Michael T. Igo that the police department “is not assisting any federal agency on detaining people that are either documented or undocumented in the City of Dallas.”

“The law is not optional,” Paxton said in a statement. “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.”

Dallas officials said they are “reviewing the letter received from the Texas Attorney General’s Office and will respond at the appropriate time.”

In a press release, Paxton’s office said it had requested from Dallas all policies, training materials and communications related to enforcement or non-enforcement of immigration laws in Texas’ third-largest city.

Texas cities accused of protecting undocumented immigrants through so-called “sanctuary” policies — such as directing local police not to cooperate with federal immigration officials — were the targets of a 2017 state law that prohibited local policies that prevent a peace officer from asking about a person's immigration status.

During this year’s legislative session, numerous lawmakers have filed bills that would require local police to enter into agreements with federal immigration authorities to be able to perform limited immigration enforcement.

Gov. Greg Abbott has endorsed the idea and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick designated it as one of his legislative priorities.

Paxton’s office signed such an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement but it is not clear how his employees — mostly lawyers who handle civil litigation — are partnering with immigration authorities.

Earlier this month, ICE said in a press release that Paxton’s office had assisted in arresting nine undocumented alleged criminals in the Houston area but deferred questions seeking details to Paxton’s office. Spokespersons for Paxton’s office did not respond to requests for information.