A new analysis of Immigration and Customs Enforcement data found that local law enforcement agencies have sharply expanded their cooperation with ICE during President Donald Trump's first year back in office.
According to research conducted by the nonpartisan policy group FWD.us, agreements allowing local officers to carry out federal immigration enforcement have surged by 950%. The report found that during the Biden administration, 135 agencies nationwide had officers trained to assist ICE, but by Jan. 26 of this year, that number had surged to 1,168 agencies.
The controversial enforcement model permits local police officers to be deputized by ICE, giving them authority to stop and arrest individuals suspected of being in the country illegally. It was discontinued by the Obama administration in 2012 but reinstated in 2025, with added funding and financial incentives for states, police departments and sheriff's offices to participate.
According to NBC News, ICE promotional materials for the initiative promised participating agencies $7,500 in equipment funding per trained officer, $100,000 for new vehicles and overtime pay covering up to 25% of an officer's salary.
FWD.us found that agencies in 39 states are now participating, though the analysis did not specify the total number of officers currently working alongside ICE. The states with the highest number of participating agencies were Florida with 342 agreements, Texas with 296, Tennessee with 63, Pennsylvania with 58 and Alabama with 52.
More than 760 local law enforcement agencies have signed onto the 287(g) Task Force Model, deputizing an estimated 13,800 to 15,800 police officers and sheriff's deputies with immigration enforcement authority. By comparison, ICE hired about 12,000 new employees during the same period.
The FWD.us analysis estimated that at least $137 million has already been directed to local police departments. Based on current participation levels and the rate of new sign-ups, that figure could reach $3.4 billion by 2027, funding roughly 29,000 deputized officers nationwide.
"This would be by far the largest infusion of federal funding into local law enforcement since the 1990s COPS grants, which increased low-level arrests while having no significant impact on crime," Felicity Rose, vice president of criminal justice research and policy at FWD.us said in a statement. "Research on the 287(g) Task Force Model showed it too caused massive harm to communities while failing to reduce crime. This program is a confluence of two bad ideas that should be left in the past where they belong."
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