Agreements that allow local police to work with ICE skyrocket
Source: NBC News
Feb. 16, 2026, 6:00 AM EST
Agreements between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local law enforcement that allow officers to make federal immigration arrests have increased by 950% in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to a new analysis of ICE data. As of Jan. 26, there were 1,168 agencies with officers trained to help ICE, up from 135 during the Biden administration and 150 at the end of Trump’s first term, according to the analysis by FWD.US, a nonpartisan policy organization.
The Trump administration has called on local law enforcement to support its growing deportation operations nationwide, reviving 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 the program, police are “deputized” to ICE while they’re also expected to continue doing their regular work. The Dallas Police Department recently rejected a proposal to join, citing concerns that their officers would be pulled away from their normal duties.
And the Montgomery County, Maryland, district attorney and police chiefs association said in a joint statement that none of its departments had signed any agreements with ICE. The county borders Washington, D.C. “The Montgomery County Detective Bureau and police departments in Montgomery County do not enforce civil immigration orders; enforceable warrants must be signed by a judge,” the statement read.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/agreements-allow-local-police-work-ice-skyrocket-rcna258787
Link to FWD.US REPORT (PDF) - “Force Multiplier”: How ICE is Promising Billions to Local Law Enforcement to Expand Its Reach in Dangerous Ways
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