ICE Expands Payments to Local Police Agencies Under Immigration Enforcement Partnership Program
Why It Matters
A federally funded financial incentive program is directing hundreds of millions of dollars to local law enforcement agencies across the country in exchange for participation in immigration enforcement — raising questions about transparency, the role of local police, and the scale of taxpayer spending outside traditional grant channels.
Florida and Texas are at the center of the expansion, with both states also layering on their own financial incentives to encourage broader sheriff and police department participation in federal immigration operations.
What Happened
The Department of Homeland Security has substantially expanded a decades-old program — known as 287(g) — that deputizes local law enforcement officers to carry out immigration arrests, work traditionally performed by federal agents. Under the Trump administration, the number of law enforcement agencies participating in the program has grown from 135 at the start of the president’s second term to more than 1,700.
DHS is offering participating agencies $100,000 for new vehicles, additional funds for equipment, and reimbursement of officer salaries and benefits. The agency is also offering performance-based bonuses tied to the number of illegal immigrants an officer identifies — a structure critics have compared to a bounty system.
Florida held a public ceremony in March at which state Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia distributed oversized checks to four county sheriffs. “Let’s start giving the money away,” Ingoglia told attendees, adding the funds reward departments “for all the hard work they’ve been doing.” The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office received nearly $1 million, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office more than $280,000, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office around $100,000, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office nearly $50,000.
By the Numbers
$250 million — Florida’s total pool of state funds designated to reward local agencies cooperating with immigration enforcement.
$2 billion — Estimated total federal outlay in 2026 alone if every participating agency receives the full amounts DHS has promised, according to analysis by immigration reform advocacy group FWD.us.
1,700+ — Current number of 287(g) law enforcement partnerships nationwide, up from 135 when President Trump began his second term.
$40 million — Amount ICE announced it awarded to Florida police agencies for vehicles and equipment in a prior disbursement.
$340,000+ — Funds received by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office in Texas, which used the money for equipment and a new vehicle.
Zoom Out
The 287(g) program has existed since the late 1990s, but the current financial structure — combining federal payments, state grants, and officer-level performance bonuses — is being described by legal and policy observers as without precedent in the program’s history. Naureen Shah, director of government affairs for immigration at the ACLU, said Congress never designed the program to include financial inducements for local participation at this scale.
Felicity Rose, a criminal justice researcher at FWD.us, noted the program’s total spending could eclipse the two largest traditional federal grant programs available to local police — the COPS program and the JAG-Byrne fund — combined. She raised concerns about limited public disclosure. “The normal government process in the United States is that we know where taxpayer money goes,” she said. “It’s very, very concerning that there’s so little transparency in this money.”
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, at his Senate confirmation hearing in March, indicated his intent to deepen cooperation with local agencies, particularly following incidents during immigration enforcement operations in cities including Minneapolis that drew public criticism. Polls conducted afterward found majority opposition to the administration’s enforcement approach in those cases. Cases like the arrest of an illegal alien accused of biting a 3-year-old girl at a Texas park have also highlighted ongoing tensions around enforcement priorities and local-federal coordination.
What’s Next
Florida and Texas — the two states with the highest number of 287(g) agreements — have mandated that all sheriffs running jails join the program. Both states are expected to continue distributing tens of millions in grants to participating departments. Records from Florida agencies indicate planned uses include body armor, license plate readers, officer bonuses, and AI-assisted software platforms.
DHS declined to provide a comprehensive accounting of funds already disbursed. With spending potentially surpassing traditional law enforcement grant programs in size, pressure for greater disclosure and congressional oversight is likely to grow as the program’s footprint expands further into mid-2026.