Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stand outside an ICE facility during a protest on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Several states across the Heartland are seeing a rapid expansion of agreements where local law enforcement agencies are working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in exchange for cash.

President Donald Trump’s efforts to accelerate deportations are resulting in county sheriff’s departments and other law enforcement entities signing on to 287 (g) agreements with ICE. 

A 287 (g) agreement is a partnership between a local law enforcement agency and ICE that expands local authority to enforce some immigration laws with ICE oversight. The agreements are authorized by section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

As of September, the Trump administration started offering local police cash in exchange for signing a 287 (g), and more than 1,000 agreements have been signed under Trump’s second term. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act directed $14 billion in federal funds as financial incentives for local law enforcement. 

According to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, the program offers the full reimbursement of annual salary and benefits of each eligible trained 287 (g) officer, including overtime. Participating agencies are also eligible for quarterly performance rewards based on the location of undocumented immigrants. 

The administration contends that these agreements allow for the removal of the “worst of the worst” from American communities. 

Opponents point to erosion of public safety

Opponents of the 287 (g) program — like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) — argue that the agreement effectively turns local officials into ICE agents, allowing them to identify, arrest and process people for deportation. Some law enforcement leaders also argue that 287 (g) agreements add unnecessary workload to local police. Some studies also show that these agreements ultimately decrease public safety and foster distrust of law enforcement.

According to a recent ProPublica investigation, at least 170 U.S. citizens have been detained by Immigration agents, with many of them being physically assaulted and held for days.

Tennessee is one state that has seen 48 law enforcement agencies sign 287 (g)’s. According to the Tennessee Lookout, 38 county sheriff’s departments, three small police departments and five constable districts have signed 287 (g) agreements in the state. All but two of these entities signed before Trump took office in January.

According to ACLU Wisconsin, at least 15 law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin have signed 287 (g) agreements. Several agencies in Texas were already signed onto 287 (g) agreements before Trump’s second term, with 127 in total as of July. The Texas Attorney General’s office also signed an unprecedented 287 (g) agreement in January, granting the state’s highest law enforcement office statewide immigration and enforcement authority.