WASHINGTON — Agreements between local law enforcement agencies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement surged nearly 950% during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to a Feb. 16 NBC News report.
NBC News cited an analysis conducted by the nonpartisan policy organization FWD.us, which found that as of Jan. 26, 1,168 law enforcement agencies have officers trained to support ICE operations. This marks a sharp rise from 135 agencies during the Biden administration and 150 agencies at the end of Trump’s first presidential term.
The expansion comes as the Trump administration has pushed local and state law enforcement agencies to support federal deportation efforts nationwide. NBC News reported that the administration has revived “a controversial ‘task force’ model, that allows local police officers to be deputized by ICE to stop people and make arrests based on suspicion that someone is in the country illegally.”
Under this model, local officers are expected to perform federal immigration enforcement duties while continuing their normal policing responsibilities. Some agencies have pushed back against participation.
The Dallas Police Department recently declined to join the program, citing concerns that participation would divert officers from standard policing duties. NBC News discussed how officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, have similarly issued a statement, reading: “police departments in Montgomery County do not enforce civil immigration orders; enforceable warrants must be signed by a judge.”
However, NBC News also reported that many states have moved toward increased cooperation. In Louisiana, “Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order directing state law enforcement agencies to help in federal immigration operations, including encouraging local departments to sign on to the ICE program.”
This model was discontinued in 2012 during the Obama administration following accusations of racial profiling by local officers in Arizona and North Carolina. The program was reinstated in early 2025 with expanded funding and financial incentives for participating agencies.
According to ICE program materials, participating agencies may receive $7,500 in equipment funding per trained officer, up to “$100,000 for vehicles, and overtime pay coverage up to 25% of an officer’s salary,” Ainsley writes.
NBC News cited the FWD.us analysis, which found that agencies in 39 states now participate in the program. Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Alabama have the highest number of participating police agencies.
The organization estimates local and state law enforcement agencies could collectively receive between $1.4 billion and $2 billion in federal funding through the recent One Big Beautiful Bill. The report noted that this funding level would exceed most other federal law enforcement funding streams.
Despite the expansion of this task force model, public support for the administration’s immigration enforcement policies has declined following recent fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents. Polling data from NBC News and SurveyMonkey found that 60% of respondents disapproved of the administration’s immigration and border security actions following the incidents, while 40% expressed approval.
As more local officers receive immigration enforcement training, scrutiny may increasingly shift toward local policing practices.
NBC News cited Felicity Roses, vice president of criminal justice research and policy at FWD.us, who noted the previous task force models’ association with measurable community impacts. Roses said prior enforcement expansions were linked to “reduced school attendance, reduced healthcare access, all the things we see when ICE comes to town when people are afraid to leave their houses.”
Roses warned that expanded surveillance and enforcement practices may now spread nationwide as the program grows.
Ainsley discussed how the Trump administration has defended the task force program. ICE’s website emphasizes the importance of partnerships between federal, “state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies — to carry out its critical mission.”
ICE further states that these partnerships help support immigration law enforcement and public safety by facilitating the arrest and removal of individuals who violate immigration laws.
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