ICE arrests undocumented man serving as police officer in Maine over illegal gun purchase
ICE arrested an undocumented immigrant working as a local police officer in Maine after he attempted to illegally purchase a firearm. The 287(g) programme deputising local police for immigration enforcement has surged under Trump.
Undocumented police officer arrested in Maine after attempted illegal firearm purchase
Ice.gov reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an undocumented immigrant who was serving as a local police officer in Maine, after the man attempted to unlawfully purchase a firearm.
The arrest is one of the most striking examples to emerge from the rapid expansion of the federal 287(g) programme, which allows state and local law enforcement agencies to act as immigration enforcement agents — questioning, investigating, and in some cases detaining individuals for civil immigration violations, authority traditionally held exclusively by federal officers.
Programme growth under Trump
The 287(g) programme was established in 1996 and has existed under both Democratic and Republican administrations, but never at the scale seen under President Donald Trump's second term, immigration experts and former administration officials tell NPR.
On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order titled "Protecting the American People Against Invasion," directing the Department of Homeland Security secretary to maximise the use of 287(g) agreements and to structure them "in the manner that provides the most effective model for enforcing Federal immigration laws."
The numbers reflect that directive. In 2019, during Trump's first term, 45 such agreements were active. As of February 13 of this year, ICE reported 1,412 active agreements across 40 states and territories — more than 1,130 of them signed in 2025 alone.
Doris Meissner, who led the Immigration and Naturalization Service under President Bill Clinton, described the White House's use of these agreements as "a tailor-made tool" for its mass deportation agenda. "There has never been the kind of whole-government mobilizing around immigration that we're currently seeing," Meissner said, adding that the Trump approach is "putting 287(g) agreements on steroids."
Three enforcement models
There are three principal models under the 287(g) framework. The task force model, which constitutes the majority of active agreements according to ICE data, grants participating officers limited authority to enforce immigration laws during routine police duties in a non-custodial setting, under ICE supervision.
Under this model, local agencies sign a memorandum of agreement with ICE and nominate officers for the programme. DHS says training consists of 40 hours covering immigration law, ICE's use-of-force policy, civil rights law, alien detention procedures, and public outreach.
To encourage participation, ICE is offering full reimbursements to agencies for the annual salary and benefits of each trained 287(g) officer, including overtime coverage of up to 25 percent of the officer's annual salary. Funding for these costs was made available through Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill."
Administration defends results
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told NPR that the partnerships serve as critical resources to "arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country" and make the United States safer.
The administration points to specific operations as evidence of effectiveness. In Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis has effectively required local law enforcement to sign 287(g) agreements with ICE, approximately 40,000 arrests were recorded. A two-week operation in West Virginia resulted in more than 650 arrests, McLaughlin said.
DHS also reported more than 675,000 deportations as of January 2026, attributing the figure to the administration's broad immigration crackdown — though available data does not clarify what share of those deportations resulted directly from 287(g) enforcement activity.
Critics warn of civil rights risks
Immigration law professor Annie Lai of the University of California Irvine said "the potential for civil rights violations is acute," including the risk of racial profiling. She also warned that cities and towns could face costly legal exposure.
Lai was involved in a major civil rights lawsuit against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, filed in 2007 while the agency operated under a 287(g) partnership with ICE. That litigation cost local taxpayers millions of dollars.
Critics have also argued that the programme drains local resources and draws officers into the complexities of federal immigration law for which they are not adequately trained. Several lawsuits have been filed over the years by individuals detained in local jails under the programme — some held longer than legally warranted while awaiting ICE agents, NPR has previously reported.
McLaughlin rejected those criticisms directly: "Allegations that 287(g) agreements with local law enforcement encourage 'racial profiling' are disgusting and categorically FALSE. Our 287(g) partners work with us to enforce federal immigration law without fear, favor, or prejudice, and they should be commended for doing so."
DHS did not provide data for the period prior to 2019 or between 2020 and 2025. NPR has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for that information.
Source: Google News JM — Crime