AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- The Texas Senate is expected to vote on a bill this week that would require law enforcement in counties with more than 100,000 people to join the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's 287(g) program that assists the federal government in enforcing immigration laws. ICE's websi te says the program helps "to identify and remove criminal aliens who are amenable to removal from the U.S." There are three different models underneath the program: Jail Enforcement - helps identify unlawful residents who are already inside a jail and notify ICE officials. Warrant Service Officer - allows local law enforcement officers to serve warrants on unlawful residents in jail. Task Force Model - allows local law enforcement officers to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during routine duties. The bill, authored by State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, would provide a state-funded grant program to help counties under one million in population to pay for the training associated with joining the program. Counties over the one million threshold would be required to fund it from their own budget. Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, lays out Senate Bill 8 in the Senate State Affairs committee (Photo Courtesy: Texas Senate). According to 2020 Census data, 40 counties in Texas reached the 100,000 threshold to be a part of the 287(g) program. "It's time for Texas to take a very bold and powerful stance against criminal aliens and illegal immigration," Schwertner explained. He said the goal of the program is to get criminals out of Texas communities. However, some in the law enforcement community brought forward concerns when the bill was being discussed in committee. Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne, who serves as Legislative Chairman for the Sheriff’s Association of Texas, testified on the bill earlier this month in a committee hearing, saying sheriffs are worried about unfunded mandates. “We think that financial relief portion shouldn’t be in a grant program, it should just be a part of the program," Hawthorne testified. "And it should cover all 254 counties that get into the program.” Hawthorne said it cost $10,000 to train each officer in his department. Calhoun County Sheriff Bobbie Vickery shares the same concerns. His county of about 25,000 people joined the 287(g) program in 2017 and said it "works very well," but he, too worried about the cost. "This could potentially put a very harsh monetary strain on our budgets every year," Vickery testified. Part of the issue is that jailors and officers would need to leave their day-to-day duties to get the proper training for the program. That means it can be hard to fill in for the missing officers with limited staffing. When asked about opponents to his legislation, Schwertner said, “I ask them if they want criminal aliens running around and causing violence and crime against citizens that they know, Texans they know, and I would hope their answer would be no." El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte's office said in an email to Nexstar that immigration enforcement is not the focus of the office. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office brought up an additional concern: space. "If counties are required to house migrants in county jails, we are concerned about our capacity, as we do not have the personnel or resources to take on this additional burden," the statement read. ...read more read less