287g Agreements Explained: Difference between revisions

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Section 287(g) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act is the legal switch that lets the Department of Homeland Security deputize local police as federal immigration agents. It was created in 1996, buried inside the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, and it fundamentally changed the relationship between local policing and federal immigration enforcement.

Under 287(g), [[ICE]] trains selected officers and then gives them federal authority to identify, question, process, and detain people for immigration violations during their everyday policing. In practice, it turns ordinary sheriff’s deputies into an extension of [[ICE]]’s interior enforcement machine.

Under 287(g), [[[[ICE]]]] trains selected officers and then gives them federal authority to identify, question, process, and detain people for immigration violations during their everyday policing. In practice, it turns ordinary sheriff’s deputies into an extension of [[[[ICE]]]]’s interior enforcement machine.

== Implementation ==

Participating officers go through roughly four weeks of [[ICE]]-controlled training, and then they’re folded directly into federal immigration enforcement structures. Out of more than 15,000 police and sheriff departments in the United States, only 37 agencies still used 287(g) as of March 2017. Most dropped the program because:

Participating officers go through roughly four weeks of [[[[ICE]]]]-controlled training, and then they’re folded directly into federal immigration enforcement structures. Out of more than 15,000 police and sheriff departments in the United States, only 37 agencies still used 287(g) as of March 2017. Most dropped the program because:

* it destroyed community trust

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But despite being widely discredited, the program generated enormous numbers: between 2006 and 2015, more than 402,000 people were flagged for deportation through 287(g).

[[ICE]] has historically used three versions of 287(g):

[[[[ICE]]]] has historically used three versions of 287(g):

* a **jail model**, where sheriffs interrogate people in custody

* a **warrant service model**, where local officers help [[ICE]] serve immigration warrants

* a **warrant service model**, where local officers help [[[[ICE]]]] serve immigration warrants

* a **task force model**, where officers conduct public, street-level immigration enforcement

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287(g) started as a jail-only program, targeting people already in custody. Then everything changed in 2006, when the sheriff of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Jim Pendergraph, began using 287(g) for street enforcement. This was the beginning of the task-force era — and it quickly spread.

Pendergraph was rewarded with a position inside [[ICE]] headquarters, where he helped push this aggressive model nationwide.

Pendergraph was rewarded with a position inside [[[[ICE]]]] headquarters, where he helped push this aggressive model nationwide.

By 2012, even [[ICE]] admitted it was unsustainable and quietly shut down task-force agreements, shifting to “more efficient” programs like Secure Communities. Participation collapsed from a peak of 72 jurisdictions in 2011 to just 37 by 2017, and legal advocates across the country openly predicted the program’s death.

By 2012, even [[[[ICE]]]] admitted it was unsustainable and quietly shut down task-force agreements, shifting to “more efficient” programs like Secure Communities. Participation collapsed from a peak of 72 jurisdictions in 2011 to just 37 by 2017, and legal advocates across the country openly predicted the program’s death.

But the Trump administration revived and weaponized 287(g). In a 2017 executive order, Trump ordered DHS to massively expand partnerships. Sheriffs rushed to enroll, and the number of agreements exploded — from 135 in January 2025 to **649 in June 2025**. This is one of the largest expansions of local-to-federal immigration policing in U.S. history.

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* **Maricopa County, Arizona** — Sheriff Joe Arpaio turned 287(g) into a racial-profiling dragnet, justifying sweeping operations that targeted Latinos en masse.

* **Alamance County, NC** — Deputies set up checkpoints specifically at the entrances of Latino neighborhoods. Latino drivers were ten times more likely to be stopped. They were arrested for violations that white drivers received citations for.

* **Nationwide patterns** — The ACLU and civil rights groups documented repeated abuses: discriminatory stops, detention without cause, unconstitutional searches, and officers wildly exceeding the authority [[ICE]] had granted them.

* **Nationwide patterns** — The ACLU and civil rights groups documented repeated abuses: discriminatory stops, detention without cause, unconstitutional searches, and officers wildly exceeding the authority [[[[ICE]]]] had granted them.

In 2017, the ACLU urged [[ICE]] to terminate the program entirely, arguing that the pattern of misconduct was not a bug — it was the system working exactly as designed.

In 2017, the ACLU urged [[[[ICE]]]] to terminate the program entirely, arguing that the pattern of misconduct was not a bug — it was the system working exactly as designed.

== Support and Opposition ==

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* The Southern Center for Human Rights

The common argument: when local police turn into [[ICE]] extensions, community trust collapses. People stop reporting crimes, won’t cooperate with investigations, and become vulnerable to exploitation — while racial profiling becomes routine.

The common argument: when local police turn into [[[[ICE]]]] extensions, community trust collapses. People stop reporting crimes, won’t cooperate with investigations, and become vulnerable to exploitation — while racial profiling becomes routine.

== See also ==

* [[List of 287(g) Agreements]]

* [[Local Law Enforcement Offices]]

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 Section 287(g) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act is the legal switch that lets the Department of Homeland Security deputize local police as federal immigration agents. It was created in 1996, buried inside the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, and it fundamentally changed the relationship between local policing and federal immigration enforcement.
-Under 287(g), [[ICE]] trains selected officers and then gives them federal authority to identify, question, process, and detain people for immigration violations during their everyday policing. In practice, it turns ordinary sheriff’s deputies into an extension of [[ICE]]’s interior enforcement machine.
+Under 287(g), [[[[ICE]]]] trains selected officers and then gives them federal authority to identify, question, process, and detain people for immigration violations during their everyday policing. In practice, it turns ordinary sheriff’s deputies into an extension of [[[[ICE]]]]’s interior enforcement machine.
 == Implementation ==
-Participating officers go through roughly four weeks of [[ICE]]-controlled training, and then they’re folded directly into federal immigration enforcement structures. Out of more than 15,000 police and sheriff departments in the United States, only 37 agencies still used 287(g) as of March 2017. Most dropped the program because:
+Participating officers go through roughly four weeks of [[[[ICE]]]]-controlled training, and then they’re folded directly into federal immigration enforcement structures. Out of more than 15,000 police and sheriff departments in the United States, only 37 agencies still used 287(g) as of March 2017. Most dropped the program because:
 * it destroyed community trust
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 But despite being widely discredited, the program generated enormous numbers: between 2006 and 2015, more than 402,000 people were flagged for deportation through 287(g).
-[[ICE]] has historically used three versions of 287(g):
+[[[[ICE]]]] has historically used three versions of 287(g):
 * a **jail model**, where sheriffs interrogate people in custody
-* a **warrant service model**, where local officers help [[ICE]] serve immigration warrants
+* a **warrant service model**, where local officers help [[[[ICE]]]] serve immigration warrants
 * a **task force model**, where officers conduct public, street-level immigration enforcement
@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 (g) started as a jail-only program, targeting people already in custody. Then everything changed in 2006, when the sheriff of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Jim Pendergraph, began using 287(g) for street enforcement. This was the beginning of the task-force era — and it quickly spread.
-Pendergraph was rewarded with a position inside [[ICE]] headquarters, where he helped push this aggressive model nationwide.
+Pendergraph was rewarded with a position inside [[[[ICE]]]] headquarters, where he helped push this aggressive model nationwide.
-By 2012, even [[ICE]] admitted it was unsustainable and quietly shut down task-force agreements, shifting to “more efficient” programs like Secure Communities. Participation collapsed from a peak of 72 jurisdictions in 2011 to just 37 by 2017, and legal advocates across the country openly predicted the program’s death.
+By 2012, even [[[[ICE]]]] admitted it was unsustainable and quietly shut down task-force agreements, shifting to “more efficient” programs like Secure Communities. Participation collapsed from a peak of 72 jurisdictions in 2011 to just 37 by 2017, and legal advocates across the country openly predicted the program’s death.
 But the Trump administration revived and weaponized 287(g). In a 2017 executive order, Trump ordered DHS to massively expand partnerships. Sheriffs rushed to enroll, and the number of agreements exploded — from 135 in January 2025 to **649 in June 2025**. This is one of the largest expansions of local-to-federal immigration policing in U.S. history.
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 * **Maricopa County, Arizona** — Sheriff Joe Arpaio turned 287(g) into a racial-profiling dragnet, justifying sweeping operations that targeted Latinos en masse.
 * **Alamance County, NC** — Deputies set up checkpoints specifically at the entrances of Latino neighborhoods. Latino drivers were ten times more likely to be stopped. They were arrested for violations that white drivers received citations for.
-* **Nationwide patterns** — The ACLU and civil rights groups documented repeated abuses: discriminatory stops, detention without cause, unconstitutional searches, and officers wildly exceeding the authority [[ICE]] had granted them.
+* **Nationwide patterns** — The ACLU and civil rights groups documented repeated abuses: discriminatory stops, detention without cause, unconstitutional searches, and officers wildly exceeding the authority [[[[ICE]]]] had granted them.
-In 2017, the ACLU urged [[ICE]] to terminate the program entirely, arguing that the pattern of misconduct was not a bug — it was the system working exactly as designed.
+In 2017, the ACLU urged [[[[ICE]]]] to terminate the program entirely, arguing that the pattern of misconduct was not a bug — it was the system working exactly as designed.
 == Support and Opposition ==
@@ Line 61: / Line 61: @@
 * The Southern Center for Human Rights
-The common argument: when local police turn into [[ICE]] extensions, community trust collapses. People stop reporting crimes, won’t cooperate with investigations, and become vulnerable to exploitation — while racial profiling becomes routine.
+The common argument: when local police turn into [[[[ICE]]]] extensions, community trust collapses. People stop reporting crimes, won’t cooperate with investigations, and become vulnerable to exploitation — while racial profiling becomes routine.
 == See also ==
 * [[List of 287(g) Agreements]]
 * [[Local Law Enforcement Offices]]