New Texas Attorney General Sets Sights on ICE Agents Instead of Illegals, and That’s Just the Beginning
Democrat Nathan Johnson, Texas’s incoming attorney general, is preparing to reexamine the state’s deep collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including the possibility of ending an agreement that has allowed his own office’s investigators to perform federal immigration duties.
After defeating Republican Mayes Middleton, Johnson called the attorney general’s office 287(g) partnership with ICE a “political stunt,” a “waste of time,” and a “misdirection of resources” in an interview with KXAN.
Johnson currently sees little justification for keeping it and has indicated any continuation would depend on ICE first giving his office independent power to investigate alleged misconduct by federal agents working in Texas.
Under the current arrangement signed by outgoing Attorney General Ken Paxton early in President Trump’s second term, authorized personnel in the attorney general’s office can question people about immigration status, make related arrests, and process cases before transferring them to federal custody.
Paxton’s office reported 35 such arrests in late 2025. Texas has been among the most active states in the 287(g) program, which also covers many sheriff’s offices under a state law and has expanded to the Department of Public Safety.
Johnson has placed the review in a wider public-safety context, he has said that when federal agents are “terrorizing communities and impeding the ability of local law enforcement to get information from, for example, Hispanic communities,” the result harms safety inside the state of Texas.
Separately, he has signaled willingness to assist county prosecutors who build cases against federal agents accused of misconduct, and to help landowners who challenge private border-wall contractors seeking access to private property or parkland.
Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa has separately pledged to examine the costs and results of outgoing Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star border program, which she has called political theater.
The attorney general’s review comes as several of Texas’s largest cities begin limiting everyday police contact with ICE. Last week Houston Mayor John Whitmire ordered officers to contact ICE only if someone is already being taken into custody on a criminal charge that carries jail time; an administrative immigration warrant alone, spotted during a routine stop or citation, is no longer enough.
Whitmire said the shift aims to ease community fear and noted that “elections matter.” Austin officials have ordered a similar policy review.
Those municipal steps followed a Democratic sweep of statewide offices, including James Talarico’s defeat of Paxton for a U.S. Senate seat making the first such Democratic win in Texas in decades as well as Hinojosa’s victory over Abbott.
State law still limits how far cities can go in restricting cooperation, and Johnson’s plans would enforce statutes against agencies that flout requirements without justification, even if he disagrees with the underlying policy.
The incoming administration has not yet detailed the full scope or timeline of any changes to state-level immigration agreements. ICE has not publicly responded to the recent city directives or to Johnson’s stated conditions for continuing the attorney general’s office partnership.
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