Less than two weeks into his second term, President Donald Trump has already made sweeping changes to the way the U.S. enforces immigration laws. And given its large border with Mexico and Republican leadership, Texas has vowed to assist Trump in his efforts.
How is Texas helping Trump?
On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the Texas Department of Public Safety would deploy 鈥渢actical strike teams,鈥� that include DPS troopers and Texas Rangers, to identify and arrest 5,400 people with active warrants who are in the U.S. without legal status.
It is unclear what would happen to those who are arrested or how much the state would spend on the effort; Abbott鈥檚 office did not immediately return a request for comment.
Abbott said the state will also send 400 soldiers to the Texas-Mexico border . Soldiers with the so-called Texas Tactical Border Force are being sent to the Rio Grande Valley, departing from bases in Fort Worth and Houston. The state has also offered 1,402 acres in South Texas to the federal government to build detention facilities for migrants.
Abbott has requested that the federal government reimburse the state for Operation Lone Star, the controversial program Abbott launched in 2021 that deployed Texas National Guard troops to the border. Texas has spent about $11.1 billion on Operation Lone Star, which Abbott said was necessary to combat what he called President Joe Biden鈥檚 mishandling of the border. Abbott鈥檚 call for reimbursement .
How are Texas cities and school districts responding to Trump鈥檚 changes to immigration?
The signed when he took office and his promise to increase workplace raids have sewed uncertainty in some of the biggest cities and school districts across Texas.
On Sunday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents apprehended 84 people in cities across North Texas, including Dallas, Irving, Arlington, Fort Worth, Garland and Collin County. , according to KUT News.
The owner of a quincea帽era dress shop in the heart of the predominantly Hispanic Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas said fear of apprehensions is driving customers away.
鈥淭he streets are empty. There are no people,鈥� the woman, who spoke to 四虎影院 anonymously out of fear of being targeted by immigration officials, said in Spanish. 鈥淧eople are scared. We are now without people, without sales, and business is going down."
Law enforcement in carrying out immigration efforts. A spokesperson with the Harris County Sheriff's Office told Houston Public Media that the department is working to "keep Harris County safe for everyone." A spokesperson for the Houston Police Department said the agency is focused on reducing violent crime in the city. Nearly 30% of Harris County鈥檚 population is foreign-born.
Last week William Knox, chief deputy with the Liberty County Sheriff's Office northeast of Houston, said the department hasn鈥檛 鈥渉eard or received anything about potential immigration raids" happening in the county.
"Furthermore, the Liberty County Sheriff's Office has not discussed it in depth due to all the unknowns," Knox said.
In a statement to Houston Independent School District parents, Superintendent Mike Miles said that Trump鈥檚 executive orders haven鈥檛 changed their protocols.
鈥淗ISD educates all students registered to attend our campuses and nothing about the registration process for students has changed,鈥� he wrote. HISD is the largest school district in Texas.
Miles added that students鈥� information is protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law that requires a subpoena or warrant for someone other than a students鈥� parents to access a students鈥� information.
He said law enforcement is only granted access to students or student information when the district鈥檚 legal team has confirmed that requirements have been met to do so.
In a press conference on Jan. 13, Miles said his focus is making sure kids are learning.
"Here's my message to our students and families: My job is to educate every kid who's enrolled and that's what we're going to do," he said. "We don't check for documentation. We check to see if they're enrolled in the school and if they're enrolled, we will educate them."
The Houston division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which covers parts of Central, Southeast and South Texas, posted on its X account on Sunday that it was working with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal law enforcement agencies on immigration enforcement efforts.
Officials and local leaders in El Paso, where the immigrant population is 20% larger than the average city in Texas, have said dating back to 2011 that prevented arrests in 鈥渟ensitive鈥� locations like schools, churches and hospitals.
鈥淲e will work to protect our families,鈥� Bishop Mark Seitz said at a gathering organized by the faith-based Hope Border Institute in El Paso on Thursday, Jan. 23. The bishop said the diocese would defend religious liberty and 鈥渙ppose the shutting down of our borders and our hearts,鈥� according to KTEP.
El Paso police chief Peter Pacillas said local officers will not participate in raids and do not enforce immigration laws.
鈥淚 want El Pasoans to know, you can live in peace in our community. You can go to the schools. You can go to the churches and you鈥檙e going to be OK,鈥� Johnson said.
El Paso Independent School Board Trustee Leah Hanany said allowing immigration-related arrests in schools would harm children.
鈥淭his policy would be an attack on the safety and human dignity of our children and places them at risk in the very spaces that should be the safest 鈥� their schools,鈥� she said.
The largest school district in Central Texas has issued in response to the Trump administration鈥檚 immigration policies.
Kenneth M. Walker II is the general counsel for Austin ISD, which serves more than 70,000 students. He said the district will be monitoring the impact of these directives.
He said one step Austin ISD has taken to try to mitigate the potential impact is ensuring students have access to mental health resources.
鈥淲e want to, of course, make sure that we have an鈥nvironment that鈥檚 conducive to student learning, so we engaged our counseling team,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e wanted to make sure that they were prepared to provide services and to provide support to students.鈥�
In the wake of the flurry of executive orders the president signed, Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura acknowledged the emotional toll the news cycle may be taking.
鈥淔or many in our community, these are not just policy discussions, but deeply personal issues that can create uncertainty and fear,鈥� he wrote in a .
Austin ISD said the district does not collect immigration documentation.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no need for us to collect that information, we haven鈥檛 collected that information and we intend to continue to educate students,鈥� Walker said.
This story was written by The Texas Newsroom's Ana Campbell. It includes reporting from 四虎影院's Priscilla Rice and The Texas Newsroom's Stella M. Ch谩vez in Dallas; Houston Public Media's Colleen DeGuzman and Lucio Vasquez in Houston; KTEP's Aaron J. Montes and Angela Kocherga in El Paso; and Becky Fogel with KUT in Austin.
