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A new ACLU report, “Deputized for Disaster,” illustrates the dangers of the Trump administration’s rapid expansion of the 287(g) program — and how communities are increasingly afraid of local law enforcement officers sworn to protect them.

WASHINGTON — 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. At least 17 state highway police have enlisted in ICE’s program, and many have set up checkpoints in collusion with ICE. In Louisiana, agencies like the state marshal have enlisted in the program, raising concerns that even a routine administrative interaction with the government could lead to deportation. Congress authorized the 287(g) program in 1996, permitting the federal government to delegate certain federal immigration enforcement responsibilities to designated state and local officers, subject to training and close supervision by federal officials. The report finds that the Trump administration has gone far beyond that intent, drastically expanding and repurposing the program. At the start of his second term, just 133 state and local law enforcement agencies participated in 287(g). Since then, ICE has signed an additional 1,079 agencies to the program, with some agencies signing multiple agreements. At least 77.2 million people — 32 percent of the country — are now living in a county with a local law enforcement agency that has enlisted in ICE’s program. This drastic expansion has also sparked backlash, alongside increasing outrage and disapproval of ICE and Border Patrol’s abuses. The report documents law enforcement agencies, cities and states withdrawing from the program in response to public concern, including in New Mexico, Maryland, Maine and Delaware — which passed legislation to ban the program in recent months. Deputized for Disaster builds on the ACLU’s research documenting abuses tied to the 287(g) program and outlines concrete steps that cities, counties, law enforcement leaders, and state officials can take now to reduce harm and prevent civil rights violations wherever the program remains in place. Key recommendations to states and cities include: Ban or withdraw from 287(g) program: In light of the risk of racial profiling and other civil rights violations, prohibit involvement in ICE’s program — particularly the Task Force Model. Assess legal and financial risk: Conduct legal liability and insurance assessments, financial impact evaluations, staff and resource impact assessments, and other studies. Limit scope of participation: Restrict involvement in the program, particularly the Task Force Model, by specifying the number of officers who will be deputized and the types of situations in which they will participate. Strengthen oversight: Require supervisory pre-approval for actions in response to federal agents’ requests for assistance. You can read the full report and findings here: https://www.aclu.org/publications/deputized-for-disaster

NORTH CAROLINA — A lawsuit was filed today on behalf of five individuals — and a class of similarly situated people — to prevent unlawful warrantless immigration arrests across North Carolina by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its agencies, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Border Patrol (USBP). The Trump administration, through DHS, has accelerated its immigration crackdown across North Carolina. Armed and masked DHS agents, including ICE, CBP, and USBP, have roamed Charlotte, Durham, Raleigh, and other communities, arresting and detaining people indiscriminately without warrants or legal justification. Despite public outcry, DHS violence has persisted. The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina (ACLU‑NC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Democracy Forward, and Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) filed the lawsuit on behalf of five plaintiffs: Willy Wender Aceituno, 46, a naturalized U.S. citizen who has lived in Charlotte for over 25 years; Yoshi Cuenca Villamar, 23, a U.S. citizen who was born in North Carolina and has lived in Charlotte his entire life; Ruben Arguera Lopez, 39, a visa holder who has lived in Charlotte for 15 years and obtained a humanitarian U-Visa after helping law enforcement investigate a serious crime; Edwin Godinez, 29, a U.S. citizen who was born in California and has lived in Spencer for seven years; and Yair Alexander Napoles, 22, a U.S. citizen who was born in North Carolina, currently resides in Salisbury, and is the brother of Edwin Godinez. The lawsuit names ICE, CBP, USBP, DHS, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott, Chief of Border Patrol Michael W. Banks, Senior Official Performing the Duties of ICE Director Todd Lyons, and Atlanta ICE Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operation Sean Gallagher as defendants. Each plaintiff was subjected to a warrantless immigration arrest without the probable cause federal law requires, including a determination that the person is removable from the United States and likely to escape before officers can obtain a warrant. Please see a summary of each plaintiff's experience and their quotes below. Aceituno, Cuenca, Arguera Lopez, Godinez, and Napoles seek to represent a class of individuals who have been or will be subjected to similar warrantless immigration arrests by DHS in North Carolina. They are asking the federal court for the Western District of North Carolina to declare DHS’s warrantless arrest policy unlawful and to issue a court order permanently blocking the named agencies from continuing to conduct warrantless immigration arrests without individualized probable cause “Federal immigration agents have consistently ignored the law and trampled civil rights in North Carolina,” said Corina Scott, staff attorney at the ACLU of North Carolina. “This lawsuit seeks to stop this abuse of power and demand accountability going forward so that our communities do not continue to suffer violent and unlawful arrests.” “When armed, masked agents are breaking car windows, handcuffing people without probable cause, and dumping them on the side of the road, that is not law enforcement, it is lawlessness,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Federal agencies do not have the authority to sweep up people in America — whether they are U.S. citizens, lawful residents, or anyone else — without legal justification.” Courts have blocked these tactics in Oregon, Washington, D.C., and Colorado. DHS operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis have also involved arresting individuals in public places without reason to believe they are unlawfully present or non-citizens, prompting ongoing lawsuits. As seen in the plaintiffs’ accounts, the arrests are often violent and destructive to personal property. Amid mounting pressure from North Carolina civil rights and grassroots groups, faith leaders, and business owners, elected officials across the political spectrum have also voiced concern. U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) sent a February 2 letter to DHS citing arrests of U.S. citizens — including Aceituno — and requesting information ahead of Secretary Noem’s March 3 Senate committee testimony. Last year, Governor Josh Stein raised similar concerns in a November 21, 2025 letter, criticizing DHS’s lack of transparency and coordination with state and local officials. This lawsuit takes concrete action to advance what many have been calling for: ending unlawful warrantless arrests, holding federal immigration agencies accountable, and protecting all North Carolinians from abusive federal actions, regardless of ethnicity or immigration status. Its outcome could set a clear standard for how ICE, CBP, USBP, and DHS operate across the state. “The unlawful tactics being used by federal immigration agents across North Carolina must stop,” said Jake Sussman, chief counsel of Justice System Reform at Southern Coalition for Social Justice. “We cannot continue to allow our own government to break the law, make up rules as it goes, and abuse and assault communities across the state. This lawsuit is one step toward reining in that behavior.” “The ICE and CBP arrests in North Carolina reflect a pattern of ‘detain-first, justify-later' tactics,” said Lucia Goin, staff attorney at the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. “These actions violate federal law and the rights of North Carolina residents, like those already blocked by courts in other cities.” Read the full complaint here. Plaintiff arrest summaries and quotes are here. .