Police in Texas’ capital city will soon work in closer partnership with federal immigration authorities.
As first reported by KUT, officers with the Austin Police Department (APD) will shortly receive discretion to inquire about immigration status as part of their day-to-day duties.
Under the old policy, the department was only required to hold persons subject to formal “ICE detainer” requests. The new policy permits, but does not require, the department to also cooperate with administrative warrants.
A less stringent standard, administrative warrants generally apply to those suspected of civil immigration violations.
The announcement follows a memo from city legal staff that argues cooperation on administrative warrants is required under a state law passed in 2017.
The memo did not state the reason why city attorneys came to this new conclusion, nearly a decade after the law in question passed. However, a recent story, involving a Honduran woman who was deported following APD reporting her to ICE over an administrative warrant, revealed that officers were already acting beyond the city’s previous policy.
The policy change follows a nationwide series of confrontations between immigration agents and left-wing agitators. This includes the death of Renee Good, a Minnesota woman who was shot by an ICE agent after she attempted to ram an agent with her car.
A similar, though non-deadly, incident recently occurred in San Antonio.
The Austin Police Department is expected to provide more details on the new policy in the coming days.
