How local agencies are partnering with ICE to arrest an increasing number of immigrants

Across the United States, a federal program has been turning local police into immigration enforcers under US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 287(g) agreements. While officials say it strengthens public safety, critics warn it spreads fear, erodes trust, and threatens the fabric of immigrant communities.

Across the United States, local agencies have become immigration enforcers under a federal program officials say strengthens public safety, but critics warn spreads fear, erodes trust and threatens the fabric of immigrant communities. Known as the 287(g) program, it was created under the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act and allows ICE to authorize state and local law enforcement officers to perform specific immigration enforcement duties under ICE’s supervision. The program is seen by some as a way to rev up President Donald Trump’s effort on illegal immigration as the Department of Justice moves to prosecute state and local officials accused of impeding that effort. The Department of Homeland Security highlighted the collaboration between federal and local law enforcement in a news release Monday, pointing to a four-day operation that led to the apprehension of nearly 800 undocumented migrants. Dubbed “Operational Tidal Wave,” this kind of collaboration, the release said, is “a preview of what is to come around the country: large scale operations that employ our state and local law enforcement partners to get criminal illegal aliens off our streets.” The 287(g) program, which has seen increased use during Trump’s second term as part of his effort to fulfill a campaign promise to address immigration, has been in existence for almost 30 years and was once the focal point of a lawsuit against one of America’s most notorious sheriffs.