Following the County’s ICE Money

Immigration enforcement has proved quite lucrative for the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.

On June 8, the Record submitted an open records request to the Fayette County Auditor’s Office for information about the total amount of grant funding received by the Sheriff’s Office through Operation Lone Star and the 287(g) program with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Auditor’s Office responded to our request last week.

According to documentation from the Auditor’s Office, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office has received $725,500 from the federal government through the 287(g) program. So far, the Sheriff’s Office has spent $248,378.43 of those funds on equipment purchases.

Those expenses included the following:

• $49,910.68 on a 2026 Ford F-150 pickup from Sames Ford of Bastrop;

• $4,048.95 on a grill guard, bed liner, etc. from R&D Truck Accessories;

• $5,454.80 on equipment for new vehicle from Silsbee Ford;

• $7,650 on software for ticket writers from Tyler Technologies, Inc.;

• $119,000 on 35 thermo binoculars at $3,400 each from Mr. Money Wharton LLC;

• $5,000 on a scope from Mr. Money Wharton LLC;

• $57,314 on ticket writers, printers, etc. from Tyler Technologies; and The Sheriff’s Office also used $26,542.41 of 287(g) grant funds on salary reimbursements for various employees.

In addition, the Sheriff’s Office has received $80,000 in grant funding through Texas Senate Bill 8. The Texas Legislature passed SB 8 last year.

The law requires all county sheriffs in the state to enter into formal 287(g) agreements with ICE. The law also established a grant program to reimburse counties for expenses related to compliance with the law.

So far, Fayette County has not posted any expenses using SB 8 funds, according to documentation from the Fayette County Auditor’s Office.