Law enforcement agencies in 40 states are partnering with ICE 287(g) program; Florida tops in U.S. in participation
By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is calling on law enforcement officials in all U.S. counties to participate in a federal program, 287(g). Those who do receive free training and resources, potentially federal grant money, and a partnership with the Trump administration to identify violent criminals illegally in the country, many of whom are already booked in their local and state jails.
The program is named after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1996, 8 USC 1357, Section 287(g)(1), which authorizes ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration functions only under ICE’s direction and supervision. Local law enforcement officers can apply to participate in the Jail Enforcement Model (JEM), Task Force Model (TFM) and Warrant Service Officer (WSO) model, The Center Square reported.
As of May 29, a record 635 memorandum of agreements (MOAs) for 287(g) have been signed with ICE in 40 states, with the number growing every day, according to ICE.
They include JEM agreements with 100 law enforcement agencies in 25 states, WSO agreements with 228 law enforcement agencies in 31 states, and TFM agreements with 307 agencies in 30 states.
Another 68 pending 287(g) applications have been filed with ICE, including seven JEMs, 18 WSOs and 43 TFMs, according to the data.
Florida leads all states with the number of agencies that have signed 287(g) MOAs. It is the only state to have every county sheriff’s office (67) participating in at least one 287(g) program; many counties are participating in all three.
Florida also has the greatest number of state agencies participating: Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles; Florida Division of Highway Patrol; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; Florida National Guard; Florida State Guard; departments of Environmental Protection, Financial Services, Lottery Services, Division of Alcohol, Beverages and Tobacco, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Gaming Control Commission.
Florida has the greatest number of police departments (roughly 90) that have signed MOAs with ICE, including Indian River Shores and Jupiter Island departments of public safety.
Florida’s the only state to have universities participating, including: the board of trustees from Florida A&M University and University of Central Florida; and the police departments of Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Polytechnic University, Florida Southwestern State College, New College of Florida, Northwest Florida State College, Tallahassee State College, University of Florida, and University of West Florida.
Florida is the only state to have a county board of commissioners participating, the first do to so in the country is from Pasco County.
Florida is the only state to have airport police departments participating: Melbourne International Airport and Sanford Airport were the first to do so in the country.
In addition to the Florida Department of Corrections, correctional facilities in Jackson, Miami Dade, Orange, Osceola and Volusia counties are also participating.
Florida also has the greatest number of pending applications, including 22 police departments, another airport, two more universities and the Florida Department of Agriculture, as of May 29, according to the data.
Americans who want their sheriffs, local and state law enforcement agencies to participate in 287(g) can provide them with an ICE 287g fact sheet, 287g brochure, or participant map, ICE says. They can also contact their state legislators and governors to encourage state agencies, university police, airports and others to participate.
Law Enforcement Agencies participating in 287(g) ICE program in 39 states
According to an analysis of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data by The Center Square, as of May 29, law enforcement agencies that have signed 287(g) MOAs with ICE are from 40 states, with the overwhelming majority in Florida. The rest are from the states of:
• Alabama sheriff’s offices in Colbert, Crenshaw, Elmore, Etowah, Franklin, Henry,
Lawrence, Limestone and Pike counties.
• Alaska Department of Corrections; Kodiak Police Department.
• Arizona Department of Corrections; sheriff’s offices in La Paz, Navajo, Pinal and
Yavapai counties; Mesa Police Department.
• Arkansas’ sheriff’s offices in Benton and Craighead counties.
• Colorado’s Teller County Sheriff’s Office.
• Georgia Department of Corrections and Department of Public Safety; sheriff’s offices
in Bibb, Burke, Catoosa, Columbia, Coweta, Dade, Dawson, Decatur, Euharlee, Floyd,
Forsythe, Glynn, Hall, Harris, Jasper, Lumpkin, Madison, Monroe, Morgan, Oconee,
Pierce, Polk, Tift, Walker, Whitfield counties.
• Idaho sheriff’s offices in Bingham, Gooding, Owyhee and Power counties.
• Indiana sheriff’s offices in Hamilton, Jasper and Noble counties; Green Forks Police
Department.
• Iowa Department of Public Safety.
• Kansas Bureau of Investigations; sheriff’s offices in Cowley, Finney, Jackson, Reno
and Wabaunsee counties.
• Kentucky sheriff’s offices in Bracken, Daviess, Grayson, Kenton, Lyon, Marshall,
Oldham and Union counties; Bullitt and Grayson county detention centers; Heritage
Creek Police Department.
• Louisiana Department of Alcohol and Tobacco Control; Department of Wildlife &
Fisheries; Louisiana Office of the State Fire Marsha;, Louisiana Military Department;
Louisiana State Patrol; the sheriff’s offices of Beauregard, Bossier and Plaquemines
parishes; Kenner Police Department.
• Maine’s Wells Police Department.
• Maryland sheriff’s offices in Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, St. Mary’s and
Washington counties.
• Massachusetts Department of Corrections.
• Michigan sheriff’s offices in Berrian, Calhoun and Jackson counties; Taylor Police
Department.
• Minnesota sheriff’s offices in Cass, Crow Wing, Freeborn, Itasca, Jackson and
Kandiyohi counties.
• Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.
• Missouri Highway Patrol; Christian County Sheriff’s Office; Saint Mary Police
Department.
• Montana Department of Justice; sheriff’s offices in Flathead and Gallatin counties.
• Nebraska sheriff’s offices in Dakota and Wheeler counties.
• Nevada sheriff’s offices in Douglas and Mineral counties.
• New Hampshire State Police; sheriff’s offices in Belknap, Grafton, Hillsborough and
Rockingham counties; Candia, Colebrook, Gorham, Ossipee, Pittsburgh and Troy
police departments.
• New Mexico Curry County Sheriff’s Office.
• New York sheriff’s offices in Broome, Nassau, Niagara and Rensselaer counties;
Nassau County Police Department.
• North Carolina sheriff’s offices in Alamance, Avery, Brunswick, Cabarrus, Caldwell,
Carteret, Cherokee, Cleveland, Columbus, Craven, Duplin, Gaston, Henderson,
Lincoln, Nash, Onslow, Randolph, Rockingham, Union and Yancey counties;
Albemarle District Jail.
• North Dakota sheriff’s offices in Dunn, Eddy and McKenzie counties; Dickinson
Police Department.
• Ohio sheriff’s office in Butler, Lake, Portage and Seneca counties.
• Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation; Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics; Oklahoma
Department of Public Safety; Okmulgee County Criminal Justice Authority; sheriff’s
offices in Blaine, Canadian, Lincoln, Logan, Muskogee and Tulsa counties; Fletcher,
Eufaula, Sterling and Vinita police departments.
• Pennsylvania sheriff’s offices in Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Franklin and Lancaster
counties; constables in Damascus, Derry, Preston and Sewickley townships; Lower
Burrell Forth Ward Constable; Northwest Regional Police Department.
• South Carolina Law Enforcement Division; sheriff’s offices in Berkeley, Charleston,
Chester, Greenville, Horry, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lexington, Oconee, Pickens,
Spartanburg and York counties.
• South Dakota Highway Patrol; sheriff’s offices in Hughes and Minnehaha counties.
• Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security; sheriff’s offices in Giles,
Hamilton, Knox, Putnam, Sullivan and Sumner counties.
• Texas sheriff’s in Aransas, Atascosa, Austin, Bee, Burleson, Burnet, Calhoun,
Chambers, Coke, Colorado, Deaf Smith, DeWitt, Ellis, Falls, Fayette, Fort Bend,
Franklin, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Grayson, Gregg, Hamilton, Harrison, Hill, Hood,
Houston, Jackson, Jim Wells, Kendall, Kerr, Kinney, Kleberg, Lavaca, Live Oak,
Lubbock, Matagorda, McMullen, Medina, Montgomery, Nueces, Orange, Panola,
Parker, Polk, Potter, Randall, Refugio, Rockwall, Rusk, San Patricio, Schleicher, Smith,
Sutton, Tarrant, Terrell, Titus, Victoria, Walk, Waller, Wharton, Wichita and Winkler
counties; Nixon Police Department; Office of the Attorney General; Texas National
Guard.
• Utah Department of Corrections; Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
• Virginia sheriff’s offices in Appomattox, Bedford, Buckingham, Campbell, Craig,
Franklin, Grayson, Greene, Loudoun, Mecklenburg, Shenandoah and Smyth counties;
Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority; Virginia Department of Corrections;
Virginia State Police.
• West Virginia Wood County Sheriff’s Office.
• Wisconsin sheriff’s offices in Brown, Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Marquette,
Outagamie, Sheboygan, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago
and Wood counties.
• Wyoming sheriff’s offices in Laramie, Natrona and Sweetwater counties.
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