A Texas town tore apart as police officer helped ICE deport neighbors

In tiny Ingram, Officer Jaron Alexander’s traffic stops under a federal partnership delivered the equivalent of 10 percent of the town to immigration agents within a year.

By LineZotpaper AI staff

Published25 October 2026

Read Time3 min

In the small Texas Hill Country town of Ingram, population 1,900 and 45 percent Latino, police officer Jaron Alexander used a federal partnership program to hand over at least 70 undocumented residents to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement within three months last year, including a pregnant woman’s husband and the father of a newborn. The story, reported by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, offers a rare window into how the Trump administration’s deportation campaign is being carried out by local law enforcement.

Ingram, a 1.5-square-mile town on the Guadalupe River, signed a 287(g) task force agreement with ICE after the agency announced new incentives in September 2025, including a $100,000 vehicle stipend and $7,500 per officer equipment stipend. The town was still rebuilding from a flood that summer that killed at least 139 people up and down the river, including 25 girls at Camp Mystic.

Officer Alexander, in his mid-30s, had returned to Ingram after being fired from the county sheriff’s office over an internal investigation that found he had an affair before his divorce was final and used a county vehicle to carry it out, then lied about it. He says he did not have the affair. Ingram’s Police Department rehired him while its new chief, its eighth in five years, faced pressure from the City Council to increase traffic stops and arrests.

Alexander completed an ICE online course weeks after an early October encounter with Joanna Martinez at a family baptism party. He later pulled over a work truck carrying Martinez’s friends, then her cousin in November, and eventually Martinez herself a few weeks before she was due to give birth. She says he surprised her by knowing her name and the type of car she drove, warning her about window tint and letting her go.

After Christmas, Alexander stopped a truck for failing to signal a turn. The passenger was Martinez’s husband, Ulices Macias, the father of her newborn daughter. Alexander determined both men were undocumented. He removed the handcuffs from Macias to let the family have a moment together. In a video taken by Martinez’s sister, Alexander stood by as Macias cradled his 2-week-old baby and hugged Martinez’s 4-year-old. Alexander then handed the men over to ICE.

Over the following year, Alexander and the other patrol officer delivered the equivalent of 10 percent of Ingram’s population to immigration agents. The police chief described the number of undocumented drivers encountered as “dumbfounding.”

“Blame me,” Alexander told people. “It’s my fault in a way.” He said he didn’t come back to Ingram to help deport his neighbors but ended up making it part of his job. In multiple conversations over four months, he said he is “friendly with the people that I meet, especially when they’re friendly to me.”

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Analysis

Why This Matters

The case illustrates how a small-town police department, under pressure to boost enforcement numbers, can become a conduit for federal immigration crackdowns, with profound human costs for families and communities.
Ingram’s experience shows the reach of the 287(g) program beyond big cities: a town of 1,900 saw 10 percent of its population handed over to ICE within a year, reshaping the community’s social fabric.
The story raises questions about the accountability of local officers acting as deputy immigration agents, especially when the officer in question had been fired from a previous job for misconduct.

Background

President Donald Trump returned to office promising the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. ICE’s 287(g) program, which enlists local police as deputy immigration agents, was given new incentives in September 2025 to expand participation. The task force model, which Ingram adopted, allows officers to question, detain and transfer undocumented residents. Critics have long argued the program encourages racial profiling and erodes trust between police and immigrant communities. Ingram, a tourist town on the Guadalupe River, was already recovering from a catastrophic flood that killed 139 people when it signed on.

Key Perspectives

Officer Jaron Alexander: Says he didn’t return to Ingram specifically to deport neighbors but that it became part of his job after the police chief sought more traffic stops. “Blame me, it’s my fault in a way,” he told people. He described his interactions as friendly and said he let Martinez’s husband have a moment with his family before handing him over.

Joanna Martinez: Describes a series of encounters with Alexander that began with a baptism party and ended with her husband being taken away. She says Alexander pulled her over weeks before she was due to give birth, surprising her by knowing her name and car. After her husband was arrested, she arrived in tears as Alexander let the family embrace.

What to Watch

Whether Ingram’s City Council or residents push to end the 287(g) agreement after the scale of deportations becomes public.
Federal data on how many other small towns have signed task force agreements since the expanded incentives took effect.
Legal challenges or community organizing efforts aimed at limiting local police involvement in immigration enforcement in Texas and beyond.

Sources

A Texas cop signed on to help ICE deport his neighbors. It tore the town apart. · Texas Tribune

Checked

9 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 5 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedThe story says a Texas town was torn apart as a police officer helped ICE deport neighbors.Texas Tribune: “A Texas cop signed on to help ICE deport his neighbors. It tore the town apart..”
Partly supportedAlexander’s traffic stops under the federal partnership delivered the equivalent of 10 percent of Ingram’s population to immigration agents within a year.Texas Tribune: “Within a year, they would hand over the equivalent of 10% of Ingram to ICE.”
SupportedIngram had a population of 1,900 and was 45 percent Latino.Texas Tribune: “Ingram, a 1.5-square-mile town of 1,900 people beside the Guadalupe River.”
Partly supportedAlexander used the partnership to hand over at least 70 undocumented residents within three months.Texas Tribune: “Within three months of the baptism party, Alexander and Ingram’s other patrol officer had delivered at least 70 people to immigration agents”
SupportedThe people handed over included the husband of a pregnant woman and the father of a newborn.Texas Tribune: “It was her husband, Ulices Macias, the father of her newborn daughter.”
Partly supportedAfter Christmas, Alexander stopped a truck because it failed to signal a turn.Texas Tribune: “Around lunchtime, Alexander followed two Latino men in a 2008 GMC truck for several blocks before stopping them, they recall him saying, for failing to signal a turn.”
Partly supportedAlexander handed both men in the truck over to ICE.Texas Tribune: “Then the ICE agent put the handcuffs back on Martinez’s husband, wrapped a chain around his waist and led him away.”
SupportedThe police chief described the number of undocumented drivers encountered as “dumbfounding.”Texas Tribune: “picking off what the police chief called a “dumbfounding” number of undocumented drivers.”
SupportedAlexander said, “I’m friendly with the people that I meet, especially when they’re friendly to me.”Texas Tribune: ““I’m friendly with the people that I meet,” Alexander says, “especially when they’re friendly to me.””

Correction

25 October 2026An earlier version of this story said Jaron Alexander was rehired as Ingram’s police chief. He was rehired as a police officer; Dustin Breshears was the new chief.