Do Your State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Have a 287(g) Agreement with DHS?

Austen Howard

Austen Howard

— 4 min read
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The answer could give us the first step to abolishing ICE

Note: This post was first published on March 5th, 2026.

What is a 287(g) Agreement?

287(g) agreements are named for Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and became law as part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.

Under 287(g) agreement or MOAs (Memorandums of Agreement), state and local law enforcement officers (LEOs) are deputized to perform certain functions of federal immigration agents.

287(g) agreements are a long-standing tool used by DHS and ICE to expand the reach of their immigration enforcement operations. In fact, federal funding for the 287(g) program peaked in fiscal years 2010 - 2013. However, the largest and most rapid expansion of the program began on the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term.

As of February 2026, there are 1,190 287(g) agreements between DHS and state/local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in the United States.

Deputized LEOs Are Authorized To*:

  • interview to ascertain immigration status
  • check DHS databases
  • issue immigration detainers
  • enter data into ICE’s databases
  • issue notices to appear (the first step in deportation proceedings)
  • recommend voluntary departure
  • recommend detention/immigration bond
  • transfer non-citizens into ICE custody

Once a 287(g) agreement is entered into, it may be terminated at any time by either party (DHS or the state/local LEA).

*depending on the type of MOA

The Three Types of 287(g) MOAs

Jail Enforcement MOAs allow deputized state and local LEOs to interrogate suspected noncitizens who have already been arrested on state or local charges to determine immigration status. They can also issue immigration detainers to hold non-citizens for up to 48-hours.

Warrant Service Officer MOAs allowed deputized state and local LEOs to execute ICE administrative warrants, and perform arrest functions of immigration officers within their agency’s jails and correctional facilities.

Task Force MOAs were revived under the Trump Administration and allow deputized state and local LEOs who encounter suspected non-citizens during daily activities to question/arrest individuals they believe violated immigration law without first having to arrest them for separate state/local charges. They can also issue ICE detainers and execute ICE arrest/search warrants.

Many state and local LEAs have more than one type of MOA

in place, if not all three.

Civil Rights Violations

State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies who have entered into 287(g) agreements with DHS have a long and well-documented history of serious civil rights violations.

Remember Sheriff Joe Arpaio of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office? According to a 2011 Department of Justice investigation into the MCSO, the “deputies, supervisory staff and command staff engages in racial profiling of Latinos”.

According to the report, MCSO officers not only stopped, detained and arrested Latinos, but also retaliated against people who criticized MSO’s practices. The report also detailed MCSO’s “immigration-related crime suppression activities”, sparked by community complaints referring to people with “dark skin” gathering in an area or speaking Spanish.

Combined with the broad immigration enforcement powers given to MCSO officers by their 287(g) agreement with DHS and similarly illegal and discriminatory policies in their correctional facilities, MCSO’s rampant culture of racism made Maricopa County a hellscape for its documented and undocumented Latino residents.

As a result of DOJs investigation, DHS terminated the 287(g) agreement with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

But the civil rights abuses in Maricopa County that were supercharged by a 287(g) agreement are not a unique story. A similar DOJ Investigation into Alamance County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina found a near identical culture of purposeful and vindictive disregard for the human rights of Latinos.

Lack of Oversight

In 2021, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) delivered a report the Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security detailing ICE’s lack of procedures for oversight of state and local 287(g) partner agencies.

According to the report, ICE was successful in its rapid expansion of the 287(g) program, but did not have “clear policies on 287(g) Field Supervisors’ oversight responsibilities or [a] plan to conduct compliance inspections for WSO participants”.

In fact, the GAO found that ICE had no mechanism to keep track of “the percentage of LEA partners in compliance with annual training requirements” for any of its 287(g) agreements.

Ramping Up an Abusive Program

DHS agreed with the findings of the GAO report, but has only implemented 1 out of their 3 recommendations to fix the problem.

So, not only do federal immigration officers routinely violate the rights of citizens and both documented and undocumented immigrants – partly due to the malicious eviscerating of their training programs that was revealed by the recent congressional testimony of Ryan Schwank – but ICE is also rapidly expanding 287(g) agreements giving immigration enforcement powers to state and local law enforcement without proper training or oversight.

On the first day of his current term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion”, urging DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to maximize the use of 287(g) agreements and Trump administration budget proposals have included millions of new dollars in funds.

Stealing From Taxpayers to Fund Bigotry

In order to offset the personnel costs of immigration enforcement under 287(g) agreements for state and local law enforcement agencies, the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) was introduced. The program “provides federal payments to states and localities that incurred correctional officer salary costs for incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens” for certain detainees.

But the federal government has never fully funded SCAAP. Many law enforcement officials have chosen to siphon money from other programs under their purview to pay for 287(g) expenses. In Prince William County, VA, local officials had to raise property taxes and dip into their rainy day fund to pay for their 287(g) expenses, according to a 2016 study by the Brookings Institute.

State and local governments are stealing your money to expand the reach and brutality of ICE.

How We Push Back

Many state executives, including Governor Wes Moore of Maryland, Governor Kathy Hochul of New York, and Governor Abigail Spanberger of Virginia have signed legislation banning state law enforcement agencies from entering into 287(g) agreements. We need policies banning them in every state and local jurisdiction in the nation.

As is often the case, the key lies in local government. Learn who your state and local government representatives and officials are. Learn where they stand on the issue of 287(g) agreements. If they already oppose cooperation with ICE, partner with your neighbors to insist they promote policies and legislation banning 287(g) agreements. If they support ICE cooperation, partner with your neighbors to change their minds.

Show up to city council meetings.

Host gatherings in your neighborhood to talk strategy.

Call and write and visit your state representatives. Make sure your governor knows your name and what you want for the future of your state.

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