ICE holds jump in Cooke County after Muenster police join federal program
Fourteen people booked into the county jail in October carried an ICE hold. Muenster police booked eight of them after signing a 287(g) agreement on Oct. 6.
Fourteen people booked into the Cooke County jail in October carried an ICE hold, according to the jail roster through Oct. 27, 2026. That is nearly three times the busiest earlier month in our records. Eight of the 14 were booked by the Muenster Police Department, all between Oct. 19 and Oct. 26.
The rise follows a new agreement. Muenster police signed a 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Oct. 6, 2026, according to ICE's list of participating agencies, updated Oct. 21. The department's first ICE-hold booking came 13 days later.
What the numbers show
An ICE hold on the roster means the jail is holding a person for federal immigration officers.
Before October, the most ICE holds we recorded in one month was five, in May 2026. Most months since January 2025 had none.
Cooke County jail bookings with an ICE hold, by month
The chart loads when visible. All values are in the table.
Cooke County Sheriff's Office jail roster, as collected by GvilleTX. Gap in roster data about Sept. 15 to Oct. 8, 2026.
Muenster police booked 8 of the 14
View as a table
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Jan. 2026 | 0 |
| Feb. 2026 | 0 |
| March 2026 | 3 |
| April 2026 | 4 |
| May 2026 | 5 |
| June 2026 | 1 |
| July 2026 | 1 |
| Aug. 2026 | 0 |
| Sept. 2026 | 2 |
| Oct. 2026 | 14 |
The two groups of holds look different on the roster. Each of the six holds from Gainesville, Lindsay and Valley View came with a state charge, such as driving while intoxicated, assault or drug possession. Each of the eight Muenster bookings lists the ICE hold as the only charge.
October ICE holds by arresting agency
The chart loads when visible. All values are in the table.
Cooke County Sheriff's Office jail roster, as collected by GvilleTX. Gap in roster data about Sept. 15 to Oct. 8, 2026.
Only charge listed: the ICE hold
View as a table
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Muenster PD | 8 |
| Gainesville PD | 4 |
| Lindsay PD | 1 |
| Valley View PD | 1 |
Before October, the roster shows at most one ICE hold from Muenster police, in the 21 months we checked.
What the Muenster agreement allows
ICE runs the 287(g) program in three forms. Muenster signed the "Task Force Model." Under ICE's standard agreement for that model, trained and certified local officers can question people about their immigration status and make immigration arrests during their regular police work, under ICE supervision.
ICE lists the Muenster agreement text as pending. It was not yet posted on ICE's site when we checked.
Other agreements in Cooke County
ICE's list shows three Cooke County agencies:
- Cooke County Sheriff's Office: Warrant Service Officer model, signed July 24, 2025. Jail staff can serve ICE warrants on people already in the jail.
- Lindsay Police Department: Task Force Model, signed May 14, 2026.
- Muenster Police Department: Task Force Model, signed Oct. 6, 2026.
The Gainesville Police Department is not on the list.
A 2025 state law, Senate Bill 8, requires Texas sheriffs who run jails to seek 287(g) agreements. City police departments are not required to join. They can sign up on their own.
What we do not know
We found no city council item, public notice or news report about the Muenster agreement. The roster does not say where or why the eight people were stopped. We will update this story if the Muenster Police Department or the city releases more information.
About the data
GvilleTX collects the Cooke County Sheriff's Office jail roster. We counted bookings with an "Ice Hold" charge from January 2025 through Oct. 27, 2026. Our roster data has a gap from about Sept. 15 to Oct. 8, 2026, while the roster moved to a new system, so the September and early October counts may be low.
The list of 287(g) agreements comes from ICE's 287(g) program page, which ICE updated Oct. 21, 2026.
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