ACLU Report: Trump's Deportation Push Is 'Rewiring' American Local Policing Through 287(g) Expansion

Axios reported July 16, 2026 on a new ACLU analysis finding that the Trump administration's rapid expansion of 287(g) agreements — deputizing local and state police to perform federal immigration enforcement — is fundamentally reshaping American policing. As of mid-July 2026, ICE has signed roughly 2,127 memorandums of agreement covering 39 states and 2 territories, up from 688 when Trump's second term began in January 2025, extending beyond traditional law enforcement into university police, state fire marshals, and wildlife and fisheries agencies in some states. The ACLU's earlier 'Deputized for Disaster' analysis found at least 77.2 million people — 32% of the country — now live in a county participating in the program, with DHS training or in the process of training more than 10,000 officers under the model. The report warns the partnerships redirect local officers from public-safety priorities toward immigration enforcement and erode trust that discourages crime reporting in immigrant communities, even as New Mexico, Maine, Maryland, and Virginia have enacted state-level restrictions on participation.