ICE is paying incentives to local police to help reach Trump’s deportation goals : NPR
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference in front of posters of people arrested by law enforcement held at the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations on May 1, 2025 in Miramar, Florida. Florida has released its own financial incentives to encourage greater local police cooperation with ICE.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America
At a news conference in March, Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, flanked by American flags, had a collection of large checks to hand out. Money was part of a pool of 250 million dollars of the state, and one by one, four sheriffs posed with oversized novelty checks.
“Let’s start distributing the money,” Ingoglia told the room. “I am proud to present these checks to these sheriffs who stand before me for all the hard work they have done, keeping our communities safe and helping to deport criminal illegal aliens.”
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office received about $100,000; Escambia County Sheriff’s Office: nearly $1 million; Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office: more than $280,000; and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office: nearly $50,000.
The counties received the money after opting into a federal program called 287(g), which gives local police the authority to arrest undocumented immigrants, something normally the responsibility of federal immigration agents. And the sheriffs were celebrating: They’re getting a lot of money for their cooperation, from the state and federal government.
How much money ICE promised local police
Nationally, the Department of Homeland Security is pledging $100,000 for new vehicles and potentially tens of thousands more in equipment to law enforcement agencies who sign up.
He also says that this will be the case reimburse salaries and benefits of agents participating in the program – and touts the potential for bounties based on an agent’s success in tracking down undocumented people, similar to a bounty hunter system.
A recent report from FWD.us, an organization that advocates for criminal justice and immigration reform, estimated that if every police department received what DHS promised, the total could reach as much as $2 billion in 2026 alone.
The 287(g) program has been around for decades. But Naureen Shah, director of government affairs for immigration at the ACLU, says the money is unprecedented.
“We have never seen this financial incentive program exist in any way with this program, and it was never the intention of Congress for ICE to go into these local jurisdictions and offer them money in exchange for their participation,” Shah said. “Police departments that are strapped for cash, this could be a lifeline for them that seems pretty simple.”
On the agency’s website, ICE refers to the program as a force multiplierand by its own description, the Trump administration “overfed” he. When Trump began his second term, there was 135 of these partnerships. Now there is more than 1,700.
At his confirmation hearing in March, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin signaled he wants to see even bigger change to work closely with local police, after the agency’s violent approach in cities like Minneapolis cost the lives of two American citizens. Polls show that most Americans thought the administration had gone too far.
What we know about where the money goes
Like Florida, Texas began offering its own grants this year. The two states have the most agreements in the country. Both have required all sheriffs operating jails to adhere to 287(g), and together they have awarded tens of millions of dollars to local departments so far.
In Florida, state records show Local police have signaled plans to use the money to buy equipment such as bulletproof vests and license plate readers.
In a statement, DHS called the partnerships “critical to having the resources” needed to carry out its immigration program, but declined to give NPR details on how much money it has awarded.
There are snapshots of where some of the money went. ICE announced in Septemberfor example, that he gave Florida police departments nearly $40 million for vehicles and equipment.
Felicity Rose, vice president of criminal justice research and policy at FWD.us, noted that money from this program could end up dwarfing the size of the two largest federal grant programs awarded to local police, COPS and JAG-Byrne funds.
“The normal government process in the United States is knowing where taxpayer dollars are going, because it’s really important that it’s not wasted,” Rose says. “It’s very, very concerning that there is so little transparency about this money.”
What Law Enforcement Says About Money
NPR contacted dozens of police and sheriff’s departments to better understand their participation in the 287(g) program and the money they received. Most did not respond. Two sheriffs referred questions about federal payments to ICE.
But law enforcement officials from six agencies provided payment records or gave interviews.
In Texas, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office received more than $340,000 from DHS for new equipment and a Chevrolet Silverado, according to documents sent by the department.
Robert Bage, police chief in Fort Walton Beach in the Florida panhandle, says his department received about $150,000 from ICE for a new vehicle and equipment. The state approved nearly $300,000 for officer bonuses and an AI software platform.
“In Florida, we are required to cooperate with immigration officials. So if we can leverage our cooperation and get the greatest benefit, we will get the most benefit from our cooperation,” Bage said.
The Santa Rosa County, Florida Sheriff’s Office received nearly half a million dollars collectively from the state and federal government. Deputy Chief Randy Tifft told NPR the funds would go toward a new vehicle and equipment, including a fingerprint scanner and Apple AirPods that translate Spanish in real time.
“It would be very difficult for us to do what we do without being reimbursed,” Tifft says.
In Marion County, Florida, Sheriff Billy Woods says if he didn’t use federal money, he would have to use local taxpayer dollars to participate in the program.
“The federal government has funds for this. What they’re doing, in essence, is fiscally responsible,” Woods said.
Bage, the Fort Walton Beach police chief, says his program officers aren’t doing everything they can to track down undocumented immigrants.
“A lot of them are subject to traffic stops,” Bage says. “The 287g program now allows us to immediately take that person into custody and transfer them to the county jail where they will be picked up by immigration.”
But immigrant advocates say the traffic stop itself is worrisome. THE The ACLU has documented cases he describes immigration enforcement in some cities and counties with federal agreements as a “draft.”
There is evidence of this in the past as well. Part of the 287(g) program had been interrupted in 2012, after the Department of Justice discovered some participating police agencies engaged in what appeared to be racial profiling.
Now that President Trump has reinstated it, immigrant advocates say adding money to the equation will increase the risk of these tactics being used.
Jaclyn Diaz contributed reporting.
