For years, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in suburban Indianapolis has wanted to work with federal immigration officials to identify and detain immigrants in the U.S. illegally who are also facing criminal charges. However, during President Joe Biden’s administration, their requests were ignored.
Now, with President Donald Trump back in office and taking a tough stance on illegal immigration, Hamilton County deputies could soon become the first in Indiana to enforce federal immigration laws. They will be part of a national effort to expand the 287(g) program, which trains local law enforcement to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Chief Deputy John Lowes confirmed that Hamilton County is joining the program, saying, “We want to collaborate with ICE to keep our community safe.”
What is the 287(g) Program?
The 287(g) program is a federal initiative that allows local law enforcement to help ICE by identifying and detaining undocumented immigrants already in jail. Trump’s administration now wants to expand this to allow officers to arrest suspected undocumented immigrants on the streets—something that was previously stopped under former President Barack Obama due to concerns about racial profiling.
Advocates for immigrants worry that this program may lead to discrimination and discourage immigrant communities from reporting crimes. Nayna Gupta from the American Immigration Council stated that these agreements often result in racial profiling and wrongful arrests of U.S. citizens.
How is the Program Expanding?
In the early 2000s, some sheriff’s offices had broad powers under the 287(g) program, but problems arose. For example, in 2011, an investigation found that Arizona’s Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office was racially profiling Latinos, leading to the cancellation of its agreement with ICE.
Currently, ICE offers two types of 287(g) agreements:
- One requires four weeks of training and allows officers to question jailed suspects about their immigration status.
- The other, introduced by Trump, requires just eight hours of training and lets officers serve federal immigration warrants.
As of December, ICE had 135 agreements with law enforcement agencies across 21 states, mostly in Florida, Texas, and North Carolina. Under Biden, no new agreements were signed. However, Trump has now ordered the Department of Homeland Security to expand the program as much as possible.
State-Level Actions
Some states, like Florida and Georgia, have already passed laws requiring local agencies to participate in the 287(g) program. Texas and Tennessee are also pushing for mandatory cooperation with ICE.
In Indiana, lawmakers are debating whether to provide state funding for local agencies that join the program. Some officials, like Democratic state Sen. Rodney Pol, oppose this move, calling it “dangerous” and warning that it could divide communities.
However, Hamilton County officials insist that they will focus only on people already in jail. Last year, their jail booked over 500 noncitizens on various charges, including DUI, drug possession, theft, and sexual battery. ICE was involved in 64 of those cases.
“We believe this program will reduce crime and help remove criminals who pose a threat to our community,” Lowes said.
