Democrats Want to Cut the Cord Between Local Cops and ICE

The PROTECT Act Targets 287(g)

In December 2025, a group of House Democrats introduced a bill to shut down one of the Trump administration’s most aggressive immigration enforcement tools.

The PROTECT Immigration Act would end the 287(g) program, which lets local police act as federal immigration agents. When Trump took office in January, there were 135 agencies in the program.

By year’s end, that number had grown to over 1,275 across 40 states, and the consequences are still unfolding.

287(g) Agreements Exploded in 2025

The growth has been staggering. In January 2025, ICE had 287(g) agreements with 135 law enforcement agencies in 16 states.

By December, that number had jumped to over 1,275 agreements spanning 40 states. More than 1,000 local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and state agencies now participate.

The Trump administration made expansion a priority from day one, issuing an executive order directing ICE to sign up as many agencies as possible.

How the Program Actually Works

The 287(g) program allows ICE to deputize local law enforcement to perform federal immigration duties. There are three models.

The Jail Enforcement Model lets officers question people in custody about immigration status. The Warrant Service Officer Model allows jail staff to serve ICE warrants.

The Task Force Model goes furthest, letting cops enforce immigration law during traffic stops and street patrols. Officers get training from ICE and access to federal databases.

Trump Revived the Most Aggressive Model

The Task Force Model had been suspended since 2012 because of racial profiling problems. The Obama administration shut it down after years of lawsuits and civil rights complaints.

Trump brought it back immediately in January 2025.

By December, 685 agencies had signed Task Force agreements, giving local officers authority to question anyone they suspect of being undocumented during routine police work.

Joe Arpaio Showed What Can Go Wrong

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio became the most notorious 287(g) participant in the country.

His deputies used the program to conduct sweeps through Latino neighborhoods and set up checkpoints where Latino drivers were stopped at far higher rates than others.

A federal judge found the department had engaged in unconstitutional racial profiling on a massive scale. The Department of Homeland Security eventually revoked Arpaio’s 287(g) authority in 2009.

Arizona Taxpayers Are Still Paying

The lawsuits from the Arpaio era are not finished.

Maricopa County taxpayers are on the hook for more than $300 million in legal settlements, court-ordered reforms, and ongoing monitoring.

The sheriff’s office remains under federal court supervision and must comply with hundreds of reform requirements before oversight ends.

One expert called it the most egregious case of racial profiling he had ever seen in professional literature.

ICE Started Paying Agencies to Join

Starting in October 2025, ICE began offering financial incentives to recruit more agencies.

The program now reimburses participating departments for officer salaries and benefits, plus overtime up to 25 percent of annual pay.

Agencies can also earn quarterly cash bonuses based on how many people they help ICE locate. The payments are designed to offset what critics call an unfunded mandate that drains local police resources.

Florida Went Further Than Any State

Florida leads the nation in 287(g) participation by a wide margin. Every single county jail in the state now has an agreement, as required by a 2022 state law.

But it goes beyond jails. The Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife has signed on.

So have university campus police forces.

In spring 2025, Florida law enforcement participated in Operation Tidal Wave, a multi-agency sweep that ICE said resulted in more than 1,100 arrests.

Some States Banned Participation Entirely

Not every state has followed Florida’s lead. California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, New Jersey, and Colorado have all passed laws restricting or preventing local agencies from joining 287(g).

Delaware briefly approved an agreement, then withdrew after public backlash and passed statewide legislation banning such partnerships.

In Utah and Miami, community members packed public meetings to oppose proposed agreements.

Democrats Say Trust Is the Casualty

The bill’s sponsors argue that 287(g) makes communities less safe, not more.

Representative Pramila Jayapal said immigrants and their families stop calling police when they fear deportation.

Representative Mike Quigley, who first introduced the PROTECT Act in 2017, pointed to domestic violence victims fleeing courthouses rather than seeking restraining orders.

The ACLU has called the program a driver of racial profiling for over a decade.

The Bill Faces Long Odds in Congress

The PROTECT Immigration Act has 15 cosponsors, all Democrats.

With Republicans controlling Congress and the Trump administration actively expanding 287(g), the bill has no realistic path to passage. But sponsors say it puts Congress on record and lays groundwork for future reform.

For now, the program continues to grow, and ICE is still recruiting new agencies to join.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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