89R6341 JCG-F

By: Spiller H.B. No. 2566

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the enforcement of state and federal immigration laws by state agencies, local entities, and peace officers; creating a civil penalty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Texas Criminal Alien Track and Report Act.

SECTION 2. Article 2A.059, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

Art. 2A.059. NATIONALITY OR IMMIGRATION STATUS INQUIRY. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), in the course of investigating an alleged criminal offense, a peace officer may inquire as to the nationality or immigration status of a victim of or witness to the offense [only] if the officer determines that the inquiry is necessary to:

(1) investigate the offense; or

(2) provide the victim or witness with information about federal visas designed to protect individuals providing assistance to law enforcement.

(b) Subsection (a) does not prevent a peace officer from:

(1) conducting a separate investigation of any other alleged criminal offense; or

(2) inquiring as to the nationality or immigration status of a victim of or witness to a criminal offense if the officer has reasonable suspicion [probable cause to believe] that the victim or witness has engaged in specific conduct constituting a separate criminal offense.

SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 2A, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Articles 2A.0595 and 2A.0596 to read as follows:

Art. 2A.0595. DUTY TO INVESTIGATE IMMIGRATION STATUS ON PERSON'S FAILURE TO PROVIDE CERTAIN IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS. (a) A peace officer who has detained a person on reasonable suspicion that the person has committed an offense may request that the person provide a document to verify the identity of the person and the person's immigration status.

(b) The person may satisfy a request under Subsection (a) by providing:

(1) a driver's license or personal identification certificate issued under Chapter 521, Transportation Code;

(2) a commercial driver's license issued under Chapter 522, Transportation Code;

(3) a driver's license or commercial driver's license issued by another state that to be issued required proof of lawful presence in the United States;

(4) an unexpired United States passport book or card;

(5) an unexpired document issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security or United States Citizenship and Immigration Services with verifiable data and a photograph sufficiently clear to enable identification of the person;

(6) an unexpired foreign passport with an attached visa issued by the United States; or

(7) any other documentation or combination of documentation that is sufficient to allow the peace officer to verify the person's identity and immigration status.

(c) If a person fails to provide documentation listed in Subsection (b) after a peace officer's request under Subsection (a), not later than 48 hours after the person's failure to provide required documentation, the officer shall make reasonable efforts to verify the person's immigration status, including by contacting the Law Enforcement Support Center of the United States Department of Homeland Security or a successor agency.

(d) This article does not apply to a peace officer enforcing federal immigration laws as authorized by an agreement with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Section 287(g), Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1357(g)) or any other federal law authorizing an officer of a state or a political subdivision of a state to enforce federal immigration law.

(e) A peace officer may not consider a person's race, color, religion, language, or national origin while exercising the powers or performing the duties of this article except to the extent permitted by the United States Constitution and the Texas Constitution.

Art. 2A.0596. DUTY TO INVESTIGATE IMMIGRATION STATUS ON ARREST. As soon as practicable after a peace officer arrests a person, the officer shall:

(1) review the person's criminal history record information available through the National Crime Information Center and the Texas Crime Information Center;

(2) ensure that the person's fingerprints are obtained; and

(3) investigate the person's immigration status in the manner required by Article 2A.0595 unless the officer has previously confirmed the person's immigration status in accordance with that article.

SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 2A, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Article 2A.0605 to read as follows:

Art. 2A.0605. INVESTIGATION OF IMMIGRATION STATUS OF PERSON CONFINED IN JAIL. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a municipal or county jail that takes custody of a person arrested for an offense shall make reasonable efforts to investigate the person's immigration status as soon as practicable after taking custody of the person if the arresting peace officer:

(1) could not determine the person's immigration status after conducting the investigation required by Article 2A.0596; or

(2) did not provide the results of an investigation conducted under Article 2A.0596 to the jail.

(b) If the municipal or county jail receives custody of a person described by Subsection (a) transferred from another jail, and the transferring jail has completed or already begun investigating the person's immigration status, the receiving jail is not required to investigate the person's immigration status under this article.

(c) If a municipal or county jail takes custody of a person described by Subsection (a) and subsequently transfers the person to another jail, the transferring jail shall:

(1) continue any investigation into the person's immigration status that was begun before the transfer; and

(2) on completion of the investigation described by Subdivision (1), notify the receiving jail of the results of the investigation.

SECTION 5. Chapter 493, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 493.0153 to read as follows:

Sec. 493.0153. REPORT ON INMATES AND STATE JAIL FELONY DEFENDANTS SUBJECT TO IMMIGRATION DETAINER REQUEST BY IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT. (a) For each 90-day period, the department shall:

(1) identify each inmate and state jail felony defendant who is:

(A) confined in a facility operated by or for the department during the 90-day period; and

(B) subject to an immigration detainer request issued by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement;

(2) compile a report regarding the immigration status of the inmates and defendants identified under Subdivision (1), the offenses for which the inmates and defendants are serving a sentence, and the home country of each of those inmates and defendants; and

(3) publish on the department's publicly accessible Internet website the report compiled under Subdivision (2) as soon as practicable after the expiration of the 90-day period covered by the report.

(b) The report required under Subsection (a)(2) must include the total numbers for each data category, and if an inmate or state jail felony defendant is a citizen of both the United States and one or more other countries, data for those inmates and defendants must be reported separately.

SECTION 6. Section 511.0101, Government Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(a) Each county shall submit to the commission on or before the fifth day of each month a report containing the following information:

(1) the number of prisoners confined in the county jail on the first day of the month, classified on the basis of the following categories:

(A) total prisoners;

(B) pretrial Class C misdemeanor offenders;

(C) pretrial Class A and B misdemeanor offenders;

(D) convicted misdemeanor offenders;

(E) felony offenders whose penalty has been reduced to a misdemeanor;

(F) pretrial felony offenders;

(G) convicted felony offenders;

(H) prisoners detained on bench warrants;

(I) prisoners detained for parole violations;

(J) prisoners detained for federal officers;

(K) prisoners awaiting transfer to the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice following conviction of a felony or revocation of probation, parole, or release on mandatory supervision and for whom paperwork and processing required for transfer have been completed;

(L) prisoners detained after having been transferred from another jail and for whom the commission has made a payment under Subchapter F, Chapter 499, Government Code;

(M) prisoners for whom an immigration detainer has been issued by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and of those prisoners:

(i) the number transferred to the custody of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the previous month; and

(ii) the number released from custody in the previous month;

(N) prisoners who were known or reasonably believed to be present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws or Chapter 51, Penal Code;

(O) female prisoners; and

(P) [(O)] other prisoners;

(2) the total capacity of the county jail on the first day of the month;

(3) the total number of prisoners who were confined in the county jail during the preceding month, based on a count conducted on each day of that month, who were known or had been determined to be pregnant;

(4) the total cost to the county during the preceding month of housing prisoners described by Subdivisions [Subdivision] (1)(M) and (N), calculated based on the average daily cost of housing a prisoner in the county jail; and

(5) certification by the reporting official that the information in the report is accurate.

(c) Not later than the 30th day after the date a county submits to the commission the report required under this section, the county shall publish on its publicly accessible Internet website the information described by Subsections (a)(1)(M) and (N) that was contained in the report.

SECTION 7. Chapter 752, Government Code, is amended by adding Subchapter D to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER D. COOPERATION WITH FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES

Sec. 752.081. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "Alien" has the meaning assigned by 8 U.S.C. Section 1101, as that provision existed on January 1, 2025.

(2) "Immigration laws" and "local entity" have the meanings assigned by Section 752.051.

(3) "Peace officer" means a person elected, employed, or appointed as a peace officer under Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure.

Sec. 752.082. ENFORCEMENT OF IMMIGRATION LAWS; COORDINATION WITH FEDERAL AUTHORITIES. (a) To the extent authorized by federal law, each employee of a state agency or local entity, including a peace officer, district attorney, criminal district attorney, and county attorney, shall send, receive, and maintain information relating to the immigration status of any individual as reasonably needed for public safety purposes. Except as provided by federal law, an employee of a state agency or local entity may not be prohibited from receiving or maintaining information related to the immigration status of any individual or sending or exchanging that information with other federal, state, or local governmental entities for official public safety purposes.

(b) Each state agency and local entity shall promote compliance with and enforcement of state laws related to deterring the presence of criminal illegal aliens in this state and may enter into memoranda of understanding with the United States Department of Justice, the United States Department of Homeland Security, or any other federal agency for the purpose of enforcing immigration laws, including agreements with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Section 287(g), Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1357(g)), or a successor federal program. The Department of Public Safety and each sheriff's office, municipal police department, and constable's office shall annually seek to enter into an agreement with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Section 287(g), Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1357(g)), or a successor federal program, when no agreement is in effect for that year.

(c) Except as provided by federal law, a state agency or local entity may use available federal resources, including databases, equipment, grant funds, training, or participation in incentive programs for any public safety purpose related to the enforcement of immigration laws.

(d) When reasonably possible, a state agency, in collaboration with the governor's office, shall pursue federal incentive programs and grant funding for the purpose of assisting and encouraging state agencies and local entities to enter into agreements with federal agencies regarding the enforcement of immigration laws and the use of federal resources, consistent with the provisions of this subchapter.

Sec. 752.083. AUTHORITY TO DETAIN AND TRANSPORT ILLEGAL ALIENS. (a) If a peace officer has probable cause to believe a person has committed an offense under Section 51.04, Penal Code, the officer shall securely transport the person to the custody of the United States Department of Homeland Security or to a temporary point of detention and reasonably detain the person when authorized by federal immigration detainer or federal arrest warrant.

(b) This section may not be construed to hinder or prevent a peace officer or law enforcement agency from arresting or detaining any criminal suspect on other criminal charges.

Sec. 752.084. IMMUNITY. A law enforcement officer or employee of a state agency or local entity who reasonably acts in good faith to enforce immigration laws pursuant to an agreement with federal authorities or to carry out any provision of this subchapter is immune from liability when enforcing those laws or carrying out this subchapter.

Sec. 752.085. REFUSAL TO ENFORCE IMMIGRATION LAWS; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A local entity may not intentionally refuse to comply with the requirements of this subchapter relating to the enforcement of immigration laws.

(b) If the attorney general has reason to believe that a local entity has violated Subsection (a), the attorney general may bring an action for equitable relief against the local entity in a district court of Travis County or in a district court in the county where the violation occurred to compel the local entity to comply with the requirements of this subchapter.

(c) In addition to ordering the local entity to comply with the requirements of this subchapter, the court may impose a civil penalty on the local entity. The court has the discretion to determine the amount of the penalty based on:

(1) the extent and seriousness of the violation;

(2) the local entity's history of violations of this subchapter;

(3) the amount necessary to deter future violations of this subchapter;

(4) efforts made by the local entity to correct the violation; and

(5) any other matter that justice requires.

(d) The attorney general may recover reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining relief under this section, including court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, investigative costs, witness fees, and deposition costs.

(e) A civil penalty collected under this section shall be deposited to the credit of the compensation to victims of crime fund established under Subchapter J, Chapter 56B, Code of Criminal Procedure.

(f) Sovereign immunity of this state and governmental immunity of a local entity to suit and liability is waived and abolished to the extent of liability created by this section.

SECTION 8. (a) Article 2A.059, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, applies only to an inquiry that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. An inquiry that occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the inquiry occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

(b) Article 2A.0595, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, applies only to a detention that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.

(c) Article 2A.0596, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, applies only to an arrest that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.

(d) Article 2A.0605, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, applies only to confinement that begins on or after the effective date of this Act.

(e) Section 752.083, Government Code, as added by this Act, applies only to an offense committed under Section 51.04, Penal Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this subsection, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

SECTION 9. Not later than January 1, 2026, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall compile and publish the first report required by Section 493.0153, Government Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 10. If any provision of this Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are declared severable.

SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.