Don’t Let Taxpayers Insure ICE’s Local Deportation Force

ICE wants to build a bigger local deportation force — and make taxpayers help cover the risk.

Through ICE’s 287(g) program, local police officers can be deputized to carry out federal immigration enforcement. Some departments have hesitated because of the legal and financial risks that come with immigration arrests. Now ICE is considering a plan to reimburse officers for personal liability insurance.

That means federal dollars could be used to make it easier for more local police officers to join ICE’s deportation machine.

Tell Congress: Stop ICE from using taxpayer money to insure its local deportation force.

ICE’s local partnerships have already expanded rapidly, giving thousands of officers new power to question, arrest, and detain people over immigration violations. These programs have raised serious concerns about wrongful arrests, racial profiling, civil-rights violations, and the erosion of trust between local police and the communities they are supposed to protect.

Immigration enforcement forces hard-working people into detention, family separation, legal bills, and months of fighting to undo the damage. Accountability matters when the stakes are this high.

Liability insurance does not make officers immune from lawsuits. But if legal exposure is one reason departments hesitate to sign up with ICE, taxpayers should not be forced to help remove that obstacle.

Congress must prohibit federal funds from subsidizing these insurance policies.

Our money should support safer communities and accountable government — not help ICE recruit more local police into its deportation operations.

Add your name and tell Congress to block taxpayer-funded liability insurance for ICE’s local enforcement partners.

Thanks for all that you do,
Matt from the Swarm