Texas Deputies Make Immigration Arrests and Recover Stolen Vehicle in North Central Texas

Deputies Put New Federal Partnership to Work

Young County Sheriff's Office deputies in north-central Texas recently carried out immigration-related arrests and recovered a stolen vehicle during patrol operations, a development that reflects the department's growing role in federal immigration enforcement. Young County Sheriff Travis Babcock has made clear that his office took an oath to protect the people of Young County — and that mission now includes immigration enforcement under a formal agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The arrests represent a direct outcome of that partnership being put into practice on the county's rural roads.

The agreement allows trained deputies to assist with immigration duties under the 287(g) program. Despite concerns from some quarters, Sheriff Babcock has said the office is not actively seeking undocumented immigrants — instead, the ICE authority applies only during lawful stops or arrests related to other violations. The recovery of a stolen vehicle alongside the immigration arrests illustrates exactly that approach: routine law enforcement work that, under the new framework, can now carry additional federal consequences.

A County With a History of Smuggling Traffic

Young County is located in north-central Texas with a population of around 18,000 residents. The county seat is Graham. Other notable communities include Olney, Newcastle, Loving, and South Bend. The region spans approximately 931 square miles and is situated about 55 miles south of Wichita Falls. Its position along key highway corridors has made it a transit point for human smuggling operations for years.

Babcock says the ICE partnership addresses challenges the county has seen in recent years. "We've been seeing an issue since probably 2020 where we've had a lot of illegal smuggling going through our county — individuals, probably 12 at a time — and now we still are seeing a lot of traffic. A lot of it coming from the Lubbock area going to Dallas," Babcock said. That flow of human smuggling activity makes the combination of immigration arrests and vehicle recovery a familiar pattern for deputies working the county's highways.

The 287(g) Framework Behind the Arrests

The 287(g) program, which has grown significantly during the second Trump administration, allows state and local law enforcement to more actively collaborate with federal agents and take on certain immigration enforcement authority. Senate Bill 8, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature and effective January 1, 2026, directs the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to administer a grant program supporting county sheriffs who have entered into these immigration law enforcement agreements with ICE. Young County was among the early adopters.

Young County deputies have already begun online training, and officials stress that deputies remain under the sheriff's authority, not federal control. Babcock has been direct about his intentions: "We're doing the same thing we've been doing for years. The racial profiling part of it I absolutely will not let that happen. Training or no training," he said. That assurance has done some work to address community concerns, though the broader debate over local-federal immigration cooperation continues across Texas.

What This Means Going Forward

Some sheriffs in Texas have signed agreements to work closely with ICE to enforce immigration laws, and a new state law passed in last year's legislative session requires sheriffs in all counties with a jail to enter into such agreements this year. Texas entered 2026 with a substantial existing footprint in the 287(g) program — with 299 active agreements across 186 counties, most major population centers and a significant share of rural counties are already participating in some capacity.

Young County's enforcement activity is a small but telling piece of that larger picture. As rural Texas departments continue to formalize their ICE partnerships and deputies receive more immigration training, operations like this one — blending everyday crime suppression with federal immigration authority — are likely to become routine rather than remarkable. Whether that shift strengthens public safety or strains community trust in local law enforcement is a question Texas will be grappling with long after the compliance deadlines pass.