One quarter of Americans now live in states where the highway patrol, state police and departments of public safety are working hand-in-hand with federal immigration authorities, according to a report by FWD.us.
And the numbers are bound to increase after Congress allocated $261 billion for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in addition to regular appropriations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the criminal justice and immigration reform group said.
“Updated analysis by FWD.us shows how this massive funding has already begun to expand the reach of the criminal justice system as well as dramatically ramp up immigration enforcement,” the report says. These state-level partnerships with ICE are in addition to some local police agreements with ICE.
Key to the expansion of immigration enforcement is the DHS 287(g) program, which provides federal funding for the salaries, equipment and training of local and state law enforcement agencies in exchange for their willingness to function as extensions of ICE.
To date, $257 million has been paid or promised to local law enforcement agencies out of as much as $2 billion allocated for the program this year. At the present time, 20 states have at least one law enforcement agency enrolled in 287(g) agreements, FWD.us said.
“Recent program growth and continued funding expansions to ICE writ large suggest that prior estimates represent just the tip of the iceberg of this massive infusion of federal funds heading to local and state law enforcement agencies.”
DHS also has expanded its Task Force Model, which trains local deputies to conduct arrests and detain people for civil immigration violations, FWD.us reported in a February memo.
While the Obama administration discontinued the model to instances of racial profiling, it was revived and heavily funded under President Donald Trump. “In September (2025), ICE announced that it would pay for the full salary and benefits of any trained and certified officer, one-time start-up costs to the agency, overtime, and bonuses based on ‘performance,’ i.e. how many immigration arrests officers make.”
The program also pays up to $100,000 for vehicles per agreement and $7,500 for equipment for each trained deputy or police officer.
“There are now 764 Task Force Model agreements across the country.”
“Despite confusion about the availability of funding, Task Force Model sign-ups began to climb sharply after the funding was announced, reaching 81 new agencies in January 2026 alone. There are now 764 Task Force Model agreements across the country.”
When the Task Force funding surge was announced in September, DHS already had deputized up to 15,800 officers and had distributed $137 million to more than 500 agencies.
DHS was up front about its intentions to grow the Task Force and 287(g) programs as rapidly as possible.
“ICE is not only supercharging our hiring, we are also multiplying partnerships with state and local law enforcement to remove the worst of the worst including murderers, gang members, rapists, terrorists and pedophiles from our country,” said Madison Sheahan, then deputy director of ICE. “By joining forces with ICE, you’re not just gaining access to these unprecedented reimbursement opportunities — you’re becoming part of a national effort to ensure the safety of every American family.”
But some states have attempted to push back against the agreements by passing legislation canceling or limiting the scope of 287(g) agreements. Those measures are currently on hold as the administration’s legal challenges proceed.
Tom Homan
Trump Border Czar Tom Homan earlier this year threatened New York Gov. Kathy Hochul with an enforcement surge in New York City if she signed a bill banning local cooperation with ICE.
“I made her a promise: You’re going to see more ICE agents than you’ve ever seen in New York City, and it’s coming,” Homan said. “I just reviewed an operational plan.”
FWD.us claims training local police to cooperate with ICE diverts the focus of local policing from public safety to immigration enforcement.
“This is alarming on its own, but particularly in conjunction with the large body of research showing the harms 287(g) agreements can have even without the expansion of funding. In addition to the direct racial profiling documented in counties running the original Task Force Model, research found spillover effects of increased racial profiling in nearby areas that were not covered by an agreement,” the report explains.
Related:
States pushing back against Trump’s deportation tactics
Report documents local law enforcement becoming ICE extensions