Texas's Privately Operated and Armed 287(g) Transportation Scheme

Transport teams composed of at least one driver and one armed guard will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to receive remote calls from the newly created National Coordination Center (NCC) in Nashville, TN to pick up individuals. Armed teams will have a 30-minute deadline from call dispatch to arrive at the designated pick-up location. Although pick-up locations are only in Texas, drop off locations can include any ICE facility, ICE processing center, or ICE office in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. As drop off locations may be outside of Texas, individuals and families may be in transport vehicles for several hours and potentially overnight.

Transport teams will be located in every Texas county, with likely several staging locations per locality to ensure armed teams arrive at the designated pickup location within the 30-minute deadline.

Bexar, Dallas, Harris, and Tarrant counties are priority for implementation within 60 days of the August 31, 2026 contract award date and statewide within 120 days of the contract date. Additionally, DHS mentions potential plans to expand the program to states outside of Texas.

The U.S. The Department of Homeland Security does not identify individuals as priority for transport or enforcement, meaning anyone can be targeted due to their perceived race or ethnicity. Implementation documents instruct armed guards to be prepared to transport individuals and children and equip vehicles with restraints and potentially child car seats.

The transport scheme raises significant questions about the legality a private company, not delegated with law enforcement or ICE authority, has to transport individuals and children. We know ICE violates constitutional law and ignores their own federal standards when conducting arrests and detentions, GardaWorld will likely follow suit. The private transport program will likely mean armed guards unlawfully detaining and transporting community members with absolutely no oversight or accountability.

Texas currently has the highest number of ICE arrests in the country and one of the highest number of 287(g) agreements. Texas also holds more people in ICE detention than any other state, with an average daily detention population of 16,450. The armed transport scheme will equip ICE with even more resources to identify and transport individuals and families for rapid arrest, detention, and deportation.

If you’re an elected official:

• Demand DHS and GardaWorld provide your locality with implementation and operation plans of the transport program.
• Direct your local law enforcement agencies to not use GardaWorld transportation services.
• Assist and support your constituents who are harmed by this transportation scheme and pursue all potential avenues to address legal violations.

If you’re an advocate:

• Share Know Your Rights (KYR) resources with your community. KYR information remains critical to protect people targeted for arrest and deportation.
• Join local rapid response networks to assist groups in documenting implementation of the transportation scheme to help communities understand how the program may scale deportation operations in your locality.
• Contact your local representatives and demand they take action to investigate this troubling program.