Immigration Enforcement: Local Police Deputization Doubles

The number of state and local law enforcement officers working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement has doubled in the last eight months. A new report from the advocacy group FWD.us details this expansion of the 287(g) program, which deputizes local police for federal immigration duties. The data reveals a shift from large-scale federal operations to routine local stops.

Between January 2025 and October 2026, ICE deputized more than 29,000 officers. This figure far exceeds the 11,600 deportation officers directly employed by the agency. Felicity Rose, vice president of research and policy at FWD.us, stated that these local officers serve as a key lever in the administration's enforcement strategy. The group analyzed public records and data requested by the Deportation Data Project, a collaboration between UC Berkeley and UCLA.

The 287(g) program was established in the 1990s under the Clinton administration but saw limited use until the current administration took office. The most common arrangement is the Task Force Model. Under this model, local police and sheriff's departments gain the authority to make immigration arrests. In exchange, agencies that maintain active participation receive federal funds for vehicles, equipment, and other enforcement resources.

The Department of Homeland Security describes 287(g) as a critical tool for reducing crime and illegal immigration. The Justice Department offered $3 billion in funding earlier this summer to state and local agencies joining the program. This money is allocated for staffing and equipment in the coming years. Florida has already provided hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funds to its law enforcement agencies in return for their participation.

Florida and Texas law enforcement agencies accounted for approximately half of the more than 47,000 immigration arrests made through 287(g) nationally between January 2025 and August 2026. Governors in both states mandated that local police sign these agreements. However, states not traditionally known for aggressive enforcement also recorded sharp increases in arrests by deputized officers.

In Wyoming, deputized officers made 77% of the state's total immigration arrests in April 2026. The program accounted for more than 60% of arrests in the state every month since November 2025. New Hampshire saw a similar trend, with 287(g) officers responsible for 60% of immigration arrests in June 2026. In Oklahoma, state or local police made close to 50% of immigration arrests in June 2026.

Oklahoma's Highway Patrol signed all of its troopers to 287(g), granting them the power to stop drivers and potentially make immigration arrests on state highways. Gabriela Ramirez-Perez, an immigration and economic security policy analyst at the Oklahoma Policy Institute, noted that this has created a chilling effect on immigrant communities. She reported that people are changing daily routines to avoid driving on highways and minimize exposure to the program.

Rose said the promise of financial incentives appears to be a driving force behind the surge in 287(g) participation. She believes this trend will lead to more partnerships in the future. The report indicates that local agencies are replacing what were previously large federal urban surges with routine highway stops under the 287(g) framework.

The data shows a concrete shift in how immigration enforcement is conducted on the ground. Local agencies are now the primary actors in many states, leveraging federal funding to expand their capabilities. The expansion continues as more departments sign agreements with ICE.