The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today released a new report, Deputized for Disaster, detailing how the Trump administration is drastically expanding the federal 287(g) program to transform state and local law enforcement into a national deportation policing force — fueling racial profiling, civil rights violations, and widespread fear in communities across the country.

The report examines the impact of 287(g) agreements in nearly two dozen states and finds that the Trump administration’s misuse of the 287(g) program has extended Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) reach into everyday policing. As a result, local officers are being used to carry out “show me your papers” immigration enforcement — often during routine traffic stops — eroding constitutional protections, undermining public safety, and diverting limited local resources away from core law enforcement responsibilities. These actions reflect a broader pattern of abusive and unconstitutional immigration practices by ICE, Border Patrol, and their partner agencies playing out nationwide.

“ICE is enlisting thousands of state and local police to assist in operations that endanger citizens and noncitizens alike, draining local police resources and driving public fear that any interaction with local law enforcement could lead to violence and abuse,” said Naureen Shah, director of policy and government affairs for immigration at the ACLU and author of the report. “It has never been more dangerous to join ICE’s 287(g) program, both for the communities that fall into ICE’s grip by taking part, and the local law enforcement agencies that risk lawsuits and an enormous loss of public trust. The harms outlined here should serve as a warning to state and local elected officials contemplating joining this dangerous program.”

Deputized for Disaster documents a sharp escalation in both the scale and severity of the 287(g) program during the second Trump administration, particularly in Florida, where the program’s expansion has been among the most aggressive and far-reaching. The report finds that Florida has devoted more state and local law enforcement resources to immigration enforcement than any other state, including the entire corps of the Florida Highway Patrol, and regulatory agencies charged with conservation and wildlife protection, and university police. As a result, in parts of Florida, non-citizens and their family members are afraid to travel on highways, go to school and continue working, due to a pervasive and real threat that local police are using traffic stops and highway checkpoints to funnel people to ICE. [Continue reading…]