Tarrant County booking records show that the county booked 278 defendants from January 1 through August 3, 2026, who had U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds. The file associates those defendants with 480 coded criminal charge entries apart from the holds, according to county data The Dallas Express obtained.
The spreadsheet contains 497 non-ICE charge rows for those defendants. Of those, 477 name an offense, while three additional rows carry a first-degree felony code without naming the offense. The remaining 17 contain only an “other offense” or administrative description.
Because the export omits case numbers and repeats rows with the same visible fields, the 480 figure counts charge entries as the county supplied them, not 480 confirmed unique cases.
The county marked 355 of the 480 coded entries as first-, second- or third-degree felonies or state jail felonies. The file lists 42 entries for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, 28 for assault causing bodily injury involving family violence and 26 for assault of a family or household member by impeding breath or circulation.
The records also list 16 entries for sexual assault of a child, five for aggravated sexual assault of a child, 11 for indecency with a child by sexual contact and 10 describing continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14. Other entries include aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and 57 involving driving while intoxicated.
The charges listed in the file represent allegations, not convictions. The law presumes each defendant innocent unless a court enters a conviction. An ICE hold does not establish a conviction or a final removal order. The spreadsheet does not include immigration-court records sufficient to independently determine each person’s final immigration status.
How Tarrant County’s 287(g) program works
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office describes its 287(g) partnership with ICE as a jail-based program. The agency says it limits the program to illegal aliens facing high misdemeanor or felony charges.
ICE defines a detainer as a request that a law enforcement agency notify ICE before release and maintain custody temporarily so federal officers can assume custody. The Dallas Express previously reported that Tarrant County has participated in the 287(g) program since 2017.
State Rep. David Lowe (R-District 91) told The Dallas Express that the records demonstrate what he believes is at stake in the political debate over immigration enforcement.
“The Tarrant County data shows exactly what is at stake. ICE holds include illegal aliens charged with sexual assault of a child, kidnapping, and other violent offenses. Democrats are running on abolishing ICE, and that agenda would make Tarrant County families, especially our children, more vulnerable. I stand with ICE and the safety of American families,” Lowe said.
Democratic commissioners opposed ICE grant
Tarrant County commissioners voted 3-2 on February 10 to approve an application for a $140,000 state grant supporting the county’s 287(g) program. Tarrant County Commissioners Alisa Simmons (D-Precinct 2) and Roderick Miles Jr. (D-Precinct 1) opposed the application.
The state grant program covers 287(g) costs that the federal government does not reimburse, including personnel, required reporting, equipment, training and confinement expenses, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts said.
“I do not support ICE. I do not support this grant, and I do not support expanding immigration enforcement at the county level,” Simmons said during the February 10 meeting.
Simmons also pointed to two recent jail escapes and what she described as 76 deaths in custody. “Tarrant County has its own problems to fix and deal with operationally,” Simmons said.
The Dallas Express contacted Simmons and Miles to ask whether the criminal charges in the records affect their positions on ICE enforcement but did not receive a response by publication.
Provided by Dallas Express
