Amidst a growing trend of local law enforcement agencies partnering with federal authorities, a report by the advocacy group FWD.us highlights the increasing involvement of these agencies with ICE through the 287(g) program.
The 287(g) program offers several models, significantly influencing how local officers engage in immigration enforcement. Two prevalent agreements, the jail enforcement and warrant service officer models, enable local police to access immigration status of detainees, share this data with ICE, and detain individuals facing immigration charges.
Rena Karefa-Johnson, holding the position of vice president of national initiatives at FWD.us, notes the resurgence of the task force model, which permits local officers to conduct immigration inquiries, stops, and arrests. This model has gained traction under the second Trump administration due to incentivization.
“Really the new bigger incentive is the just money, it’s just kind of the full, blanket influx of cash,” Karefa-Johnson stated. “In this new iteration, the administration has promised to reimburse police departments for full salaries overtime, bonuses, start-up costs for officers trained in this program.”
This shift in financial incentives marks a notable change from previous administrations, where such agreements did not offer similar financial rewards. This model was previously suspended by the Obama administration in 2012 following multiple racial profiling lawsuits, including one against former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
The FWD.us report projects that ICE’s financial commitments to participating state and local agencies could reach $2 billion this year, outstripping other federal law enforcement funding.
The report also reveals that between 13,800 and 15,800 officers nationwide have been trained for immigration enforcement under the program, surpassing the 12,000 new personnel ICE has hired directly.
According to the report, “If agency sign-ups continue at their current pace or even faster and are funded by ICE for all the promised benefits, this funding would continue to balloon. For example, if the current pace of sign-ups continues for an additional year, 2027 funding could grow to a total of $3.6 billion in 2027, funding 31,000 law enforcement officers deputized by ICE across the country.”
Based on federal data analyzed by NPR, there are currently over 1,400 287(g) agreements across the United States.
Specifically, in Arizona, the number of agreements has doubled since the Trump administration’s commencement last January, with five new agreements established in the past year.
Among these, only one agreement falls under the task force model. Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller signed this agreement in August, though it was temporarily blocked by a court order after county supervisors challenged Miller’s legal authority to authorize such an agreement.
