Local police deputized by ICE now outnumber its deportation officers 2 to 1, report finds

State and local police officers deputized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement now outnumber ICE's own deportation officers by more than two to one, according to a report released Oct. 27 by FWD.us, an immigration reform advocacy group. FWD.us estimates that 26,000 to 33,000 officers are deputized under ICE's 287(g) program, and says the number has doubled since February. ICE employs roughly 11,600 deportation officers.

Officers working under 287(g) made more than 47,000 immigration arrests from January 2025 to early August 2026, according to FWD.us's analysis of ICE data. Monthly arrests climbed from about 300 to more than 6,600, and by May through July 2026 the program accounted for 14% to 15% of all ICE arrests. For working people, that means the risk has moved from the worksite raid to the drive to work.

How a traffic cop becomes an immigration agent

Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, codified at 8 U.S.C. 1357(g), lets the federal government sign a written agreement with a state or local agency so its officers can perform "a function of an immigration officer in relation to the investigation, apprehension, or detention of aliens," under federal supervision. In plain terms, a sheriff's deputy or state trooper can question people about immigration status and arrest them for ICE.

Most of the growth is in the "Task Force Model," which lets officers do this on patrol rather than only inside a jail. FWD.us counts more than 1,850 agencies in that model across 30 states and two territories as of Oct. 1. Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma have signed up every officer in their highway patrol, the report says.

The numbers are heaviest in a handful of states. Florida accounts for more than 15,000 of the 287(g) arrests and Texas more than 9,000, together roughly half the national total. In Wyoming, deputized officers made 77% of immigration arrests in April 2026. In New Hampshire, they made 60% in June. In Oklahoma, nearly half of June's immigration arrests came through the program.

"These state and local officers are a key lever in the administration's quieter approach to enforcement," Felicity Rose, vice president of research and policy at FWD.us, told NPR. "They're trading what used to be splashy urban surges, which we saw in Chicago and Minneapolis, for just routine highway stops now under the 287(g) program."

Gabriela Ramirez-Perez, an immigration and economic security policy analyst at the Oklahoma Policy Institute, told NPR that people "are changing their day to day routines to try to avoid getting on the highway, to try to avoid driving as much as possible."

The money behind the badges

The Justice Department offered state and local police $3 billion this summer through a grant program it named "Bridging Immigration-Related Deficits Experienced Nationwide," or BIDEN, and FWD.us notes that agencies must take part in 287(g) to apply. Separately, ICE pays stipends of $60,000 per deputized officer each year, according to the report, which projects $1.9 billion to $2.2 billion in eligible payments through fiscal 2026.

ProPublica's reporting from Ingram, Texas, population about 1,900, shows the result. After the town joined the task force program, its two patrol officers logged 162 traffic stops in 20 days in October 2025 and handed at least 70 people to immigration agents within three months. Many were construction workers, landscapers and housecleaners stopped for minor equipment or traffic violations. One local cleaning company's crew fell from about 30 workers to fewer than 10.

What DHS claims

The Department of Homeland Security has said 287(g) is a critical tool to cut crime and illegal immigration, NPR reported, and ICE's own 287(g) fact sheet promises "enhanced public safety." The arrest data doesn't back the crime-fighting claim. From May through July 2026, 47% to 58% of people arrested through 287(g) had no criminal conviction or pending criminal charge, only an alleged immigration violation, according to FWD.us's analysis of ICE records processed by the Deportation Data Project at UC Berkeley and UCLA. The report also cites research finding these programs had no measurable effect on crime.

WR.N has seen the same fear reshape work in the Central Valley and in Chicago, where immigrants moved to night shifts to stay off the roads.

What it means for your commute

For immigrant workers and their families in 287(g) states, a broken taillight or a lane change can now end in an ICE detainer. Everyone, regardless of status, has the right to remain silent about where they were born and their immigration status, and the right to decline to consent to a search of their car. Carry an immigration lawyer's number and make a family plan now. Our guide to what to do if ICE comes to your work covers your rights and how to prepare.

Sources

• Force Multiplied: How ICE's Surging 287(g) Task Force Model Massively Expanded the Agency's Force, FWD.us
• Partnerships between ICE and local police surge, report finds, NPR (via WAMC)
• 8 U.S.C. 1357: Powers of immigration officers and employees, Cornell Legal Information Institute
• Justice Department is offering billions in new grants for police who partner with ICE, NPR (via WUNC)
• DOJ FY 2026 Bridging Immigration-Related Deficits Experienced Nationwide ("BIDEN") Program Round 2, Grants.gov
• A Texas Cop Signed on to Help ICE Deport His Neighbors. It Tore the Town Apart., ProPublica
• 287(g) Benefits fact sheet, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (claims)