ICE Proposes Paying for Liability Insurance to Shield Local Police Who Make Immigration Arrests

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is proposing to subsidize liability insurance for state and local officers deputized to enforce federal immigration law under 287(g) agreements, according to a planning document published Friday and first reported by the Associated Press. Officers would buy policies covering up to $500,000 in personal liability and be reimbursed up to $250 a year, roughly the expected cost. ICE asked for industry feedback by Thursday and had no immediate comment.

Nearly 1,600 agencies in 32 states hold task-force agreements, and arrests through those programs averaged about 3,000 a month in the first two months of 2026, against 250 a month in 2024. Liability has been the main brake on further expansion; removing it shifts the cost of alleged misconduct onto the federal government.

The launch date and total cost are unclear. David Bier of the Cato Institute said ICE is acting so that local police face “not even the slightest risk of liability.” The National Sheriffs’ Association called the plan promising.