Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux rejected a $25-million federal offer to join U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program, telling the city’s Community Police Oversight Board that the department responded “absolutely not, no” when ICE proposed in early October 2025. The Dallas City Council’s joint Public Safety and Government Efficiency committees subsequently voted unanimously on November 6 to indefinitely postpone any reconsideration of the program, siding with the chief despite objections from Mayor Eric Johnson, who argued the decision should have included public input. The outcome keeps Dallas outside a growing network of local agencies participating in immigration enforcement partnerships with federal authorities.
“We Don’t Need That Smoke”
Comeaux revealed his decision during an October meeting of the Community Police Oversight Board after members raised questions about the department’s interactions with ICE, according to reporting by CBS Texas, KERA News, and the Dallas Observer. He told the board that ICE had contacted the department within the prior two weeks with the partnership proposal, but he declined to protect Dallas from unwanted federal scrutiny.
“Nothing is happening in Dallas, but every time we do something like this, we’re bringing more attention to Dallas,” Comeaux said during the meeting. “We don’t need that attention. We don’t want to deal with that smoke.”
The chief emphasized that Dallas police have had “tiny interactions with ICE” and that officers have not been asked to assist with street‑level immigration arrests. Department policy prohibits officers from stopping or contacting anyone solely to determine immigration status. However, officers may ask about status when someone has been lawfully detained or arrested, according to a DPD spokesperson quoted by CBS Texas.
City Council Unanimously Backs the Chief
Mayor Eric Johnson, a Republican who has pushed for closer cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, issued a memo calling for a public hearing and briefings from ICE representatives after learning of Comeaux’s decision, according to Police1 and KERA News. The joint committee meeting on November 6 drew nearly 80 speakers, the overwhelming majority of whom were opposed to the partnership, Fox 4 News and KERA reported.
Council member Adam Bazaldua moved to postpone the item indefinitely, and the motion passed unanimously. Council member Jaime Recendez described the 287(g) proposal as “purely political,” telling attendees that diverting officers to immigration work made no operational sense for a department struggling to meet staffing goals.
“Why would I think about giving up so many officers that would not be able to respond when the people of Dallas call,” Comeaux said during the hearing, according to Fox 4 News.
What Is the 287(g) Program?
The 287(g) program, named after a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act, authorizes trained local and state officers to perform certain immigration enforcement functions under ICE supervision. Under the task‑force model offered to Dallas, participating officers would continue regular duties. Still, they could detain, transport, and book individuals suspected of being in the country illegally if they observed probable cause during routine encounters such as traffic stops.
ICE representatives who testified at the November 6 hearing disputed Comeaux’s characterization of the funding amount, clarifying that the 25 million dollars represented a potential reimbursement ceiling rather than a lump‑sum grant, and that payments would cover only a portion of officer salaries and operational costs for time spent on immigration work, not full compensation. The two ICE officials, identified only as Officers Francis and Ivy, left before the hearing concluded.
Resource and Trust Concerns Drive Opposition
Critics of the partnership raised both practical and community‑trust objections. Comeaux and council members noted that Dallas police staffing remains below the department’s 4,000‑officer goal and that response times to lower‑priority 911 calls have lagged, making it impractical to redirect personnel to immigration duties, according to KERA and CBS Texas.
Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, who attended the hearing, warned that increased ICE detentions would strain the county jail, which he said was already approaching capacity. Community organizers from groups like El Movimento DFW gathered outside City Hall before the vote, arguing that formal ICE partnerships erode trust between immigrant communities and local police, making residents less likely to report crimes or cooperate with investigations.
The decision keeps Dallas aligned with other major Texas cities that have declined to participate in 287(g), even as state law requires sheriffs’ offices in counties with populations over 100,000 to sign some form of ICE cooperation agreement by December 2026, NBC News reported. For now, the city’s stance leaves Comeaux focused on what he called the department’s “core mission”—answering emergency calls and fighting violent crime—while federal authorities pursue immigration enforcement through their own channels.