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GREGG COUNTY, Texas (KETK)– Gregg County is the second county in East Texas to partner with ICE to identify and report immigrants in the United States illegally.

On Tuesday, Gregg County commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the sheriff’s office to enter an agreement with federal officials, which is the ICE 287(g) program apart of The Illegal Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1966.

This program gives deputies the ability to identify undocumented criminal immigrants through the federal immigration system then contact ICE directly and have the detainer put on immediately.

“The 287g program is not new. We’ve been doing it for four decades and if you’re not here illegally, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about, but if you’re here illegally and you commit a crime and come to jail, will you get a detainer on you? probably,” Chief Deputy Craig Harrington said.

Since 2013, Smith County has been a part of ICE’s 287g program where their deputies contact ICE and after the crime they are arrested for is satisfied, then ICE has 48 hours to pick them up. If ICE has not picked the individual up after 48 hours, they are free to be released back into the community.

Gregg County applied to the be in the program in 2019 under President Trump, but it was then paused while Biden was in office.

The immigrant community is concerned deputies might unfairly target certain people, but Harrington assures East Texans shouldn’t be worried unless they are breaking the law.

“We’re not changing how we’re doing anything as far as field operations. We’re not going on raids; we’re not going into schools. This 287g program is strictly jail booking that’s all it is,” Harrington said.