Idaho Department of Correction signs federal 287(g) immigration agreement 

Idaho’s state prison system has entered into a formal agreement with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. It’s the second state agency to join the federal immigration program. 

The Idaho Department of Correction on Aug. 28 joined the 287(g) program, which allows local law enforcement to carry out some limited immigration enforcement with supervision from federal authorities, according to ICE records of participating agencies. 

“Idaho has a responsibility to uphold the rule of law and protect the people of our state,” Gov. Brad Little said in a press release. “This agreement gives Idaho another tool to make sure criminal aliens who are subject to federal immigration enforcement are transferred to federal custody when they have completed their Idaho sentences. Idaho will continue working with the Trump administration to secure our communities and support the enforcement of our nation’s laws.” 

The state prison agency’s agreement follows what’s called the “warrant service” model, which allows designated officers within the agency to serve warrants to undocumented people in custody. 

The agreement “formalizes a process IDOC has already been using to assist ICE,” according to a press release from the governor’s office. Correction staff have historically provided ICE with information on inmates with felony convictions to allow the federal agents to identify those who may be subject to immigration detainers, which are requests by ICE to hold individuals to prevent the release of people who may be undocumented, the release said.  

“IDOC has a longstanding responsibility to coordinate with our federal partners when individuals in our custody are subject to federal immigration enforcement,” IDOC Director Bree Derrick said in the press release. “This agreement strengthens that coordination and gives our department a clear, formal process for serving ICE warrants and transferring individuals into federal custody when their Idaho sentences are complete.” 

The state prison agency also “facilitates due process hearings for individuals undergoing deportation proceedings and coordinates with ICE when Idaho sentences are satisfied,” the release said.  

In June 2025, Idaho State Police entered a 287(g) agreement with ICE to help transport state inmates to federal detention facilities for deportation. This agreement was funded by the governor’s office emergency funds. 

As of May, ISP had transported more than 80 people out of correctional facilities, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. An Idaho Capital Sun analysis found some cases where charges were dismissed or still pending when the person was transported to an ICE facility. ISP leaders later said the agency changed its procedure to ensure convictions were secured before transporting individuals. 

Local Idaho law enforcement 287(g) agreements resulted in 19 arrests between 2025 and 2026

There are 12 local law enforcement agencies in Idaho with 287(g) agreements, according to ICE data. 

From 2025 through Aug. 6, ICE has attributed 19 arrests in Idaho to the 287(g) program, according to ICE data processed by the Deportation Data Project and analyzed by the Idaho Capital Sun. The Deportation Data Project, formed by a group of university professors and lawyers, obtained the data from ICE through legal action under the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA. 

Three of those Idaho 287(g) arrests occurred in 2025, according to Sun’s analysis of the data, and 16 were reported in 2026 through Aug. 6. 

The sheriffs’ offices in Gooding and Power counties entered into 287(g) agreements in 2020, while the rest of the agencies signed on in 2025 or later, according to ICE data. 

Some agencies, such as the Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office and Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, have two agreements under the program. Both offices have a warrant service agreement, and a separate “task force model” agreement, which allows local officers to be designated as immigration officers and “enforce limited immigration authority” while performing their routine police duties or helping an ICE-led task force. 

The Post Falls Police Department became the first and only city agency in Idaho to join the program when it signed an agreement on June 25. 

The other participating sheriffs’ offices are in Bingham, Bonneville, Washington, Caribou, Franklin, Clearwater and Ada counties. 

Idaho lawmakers focused on 287(g) program in 2026, faced pushback from sheriffs 

Idaho state lawmakers during the 2026 legislative session tried multiple times to mandate all law enforcement statewide to enter into the 287(g) program. Each proposal was met with strong pushback by local law enforcement. 

Andy Creech, Payette County sheriff and legislative chair of the Idaho Sheriffs’ Association, told the Sun in late March that the program was already an option for sheriffs, but that it shouldn’t be required. 

Creech said that Idaho sheriffs cooperate with ICE already, regardless of whether there is a 287(g) agreement or not. 

“We’re working with ICE, and we don’t have the manpower to go out and do ICE’s job,” Creech told the Sun at the time. “That’s ICE’s job. So we really just want the relationship that we’ve had, and we have had for decades, where we work with ICE, we assist ICE, but they do their job and we do ours.”