ICE, local police departments working together more for immigration arrests

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement have had an increase in agreements to work together regarding federal arrests.

The federal arrests have increased by 950% in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to an exclusive report from NBC News.

ICE data shows that in late January, 1,168 agencies with officers have trained to help ICE. This is an increase of 135 agencies under former President Joe Biden.

The Trump administration has requested help from local law enforcement, where local police officers can make arrests if someone is in the U.S. illegally.

Some agencies aren’t doing this, such as the Dallas Police Department, which said it would interfere with the normal duties of the police officers.

Louisiana GOP Gov. Jeff Landry put out an executive order demanding law enforcement agencies help with immigration arrests.

There is a program where police can sign up and learn from ICE how to conduct these operations and many have been encouraged to do so.

“The Program enhances the safety and security of our nation’s communities by allowing ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) to partner with state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to identify and remove criminal aliens who are amenable to removal from the United States,” ICE’s website reads.

The program from ICE gives law enforcement agencies over $7,000 for equipment per trained officer.

The states that are participating the most are Alabama, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas.