WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security announced a new initiative to fully cover the salaries and benefits of local law enforcement officers who assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement in enforcing immigration laws.
The funding, set to begin Oct. 1, comes through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and will expand local participation in immigration enforcement under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, according DHS. That provision allows DHS to delegate certain immigration enforcement powers to trained local police officers.
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Under the new program, ICE will reimburse participating agencies for the full annual salary, benefits and up to 25% overtime of each eligible trained officer. Agencies will also receive quarterly monetary awards based on how effectively they assist ICE in locating undocumented immigrants.
Performance-based incentives include:
- Agencies that locate 90%–100% of ICE-identified undocumented immigrants: $1,000 per trained officer
- 80%–89% compliance: $750 per officer
- 70%–79% compliance: $500 per officer
DHS said the program is designed to strengthen local-federal cooperation as ICE works to meet President Trump’s deportation goals. The initiative represents a sharp expansion of 287(g) partnerships, which have grown 609% under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — from 135 agreements to 958 nationwide.
As of Sept. 2, officers from 40 states are participating in the program, with 8,501 trained task force officers and more than 2,000 additional officers currently in training, according to DHS.
Participating local agencies will also receive federal tools and training for officers to enforce immigration laws during regular police duties.
Should immigration enforcement remain primarily a federal responsibility, or is there a place for local agencies to play a larger role?
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