A local entity or campus police department may not adopt or enforce policies that block immigration-law enforcement, and it may not stop certain covered personnel from checking immigration status, sharing related information, cooperating with federal immigration officers, or allowing federal officers into jails, except for worship-place assistance restrictions.
Sec. 752.053. POLICIES AND ACTIONS REGARDING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT. (a) A local entity or campus police department may not: (1) adopt, enforce, or endorse a policy under which the entity or department prohibits or materially limits the enforcement of immigration laws; (2) as demonstrated by pattern or practice, prohibit or materially limit the enforcement of immigration laws; or (3) for an entity that is a law enforcement agency or for a department, as demonstrated by pattern or practice, intentionally violate Article 2A.060, Code of Criminal Procedure. (b) In compliance with Subsection (a), a local entity or campus police department may not prohibit or materially limit a person who is a commissioned peace officer described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, a corrections officer, a booking clerk, a magistrate, or a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or other prosecuting attorney and who is employed by or otherwise under the direction or control of the entity or department from doing any of the following: (1) inquiring into the immigration status of a person under a lawful detention or under arrest; (2) with respect to information relating to the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any person under a lawful detention or under arrest, including information regarding the person's place of birth: (A) sending the information to or requesting or receiving the information from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or another relevant federal agency; (B) maintaining the information; or (C) exchanging the information with another local entity or campus police department or a federal or state governmental entity; (3) assisting or cooperating with a federal immigration officer as reasonable or necessary, including providing enforcement assistance; or (4) permitting a federal immigration officer to enter and conduct enforcement activities at a jail to enforce federal immigration laws. (c) Notwithstanding Subsection (b)(3), a local entity or campus police department may prohibit persons who are employed by or otherwise under the direction or control of the entity or department from assisting or cooperating with a federal immigration officer if the assistance or cooperation occurs at a place of worship. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 4 (S.B. 4), Sec. 1.01, eff. September 1, 2017. Amended by: Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 765 (H.B. 4504), Sec. 2.115, eff. January 1, 2025.