Local Police Agreements With ICE Surge 950% In First Year Of Trump’s Second Term
Agreements between local law enforcement agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have increased by 950% during President Donald Trump’s first year back in office, according to a new report from the immigration advocacy group FWD.us.
The report states that under the Biden administration there were 135 formal cooperation agreements between ICE and local agencies. As of January 26, that number has climbed to 1,168.
The surge follows the Trump administration’s revival and expansion of the federal “task force” model under Section 287(g), which allows ICE to deputize local officers and grant them authority to question, detain, and arrest individuals suspected of being in the country illegally. The administration has publicly encouraged sheriffs’ offices and police departments to participate in the mass deportation initiative.
Incentives have played a major role in the expansion. ICE is reportedly offering $7,500 per trained officer for equipment, up to $100,000 for new vehicles, and overtime pay covering as much as 25% of an officer’s salary. According to reporting cited in the FWD.us analysis, total funding flowing to participating agencies could range between $1.4 billion and $2 billion this year.
FWD.us noted that this level of funding would dwarf other forms of federal support for local law enforcement. The organization has criticized the expansion, arguing it will deepen cooperation between ICE and local police in ways it opposes.
Agreements have now been signed in 39 states. Florida leads with 342 participating agencies, followed by Texas with 296. Tennessee has 63 agreements, Pennsylvania 58, and Alabama 53, according to the report.
The program was previously curtailed under the Obama administration in 2012 after allegations of racial profiling in certain jurisdictions. President Trump reinstated and broadened the program at the start of his second term.
ICE maintains that the partnerships enhance public safety by targeting criminal aliens and strengthening coordination between federal and local authorities. The agency says the agreements allow it to “identify and remove criminal aliens who are amenable to removal” while reinforcing the integrity of U.S. immigration law.
The sharp rise in agreements underscores the administration’s strategy of leveraging state and local resources to accelerate immigration enforcement nationwide.