The original data comes directly from ICE, which publishes an Excel spreadsheet of active 287(g) agreements every day or so (update schedule/frequency are not consistent).

ICE makes this data available through snapshot updates: a new version of the spreadsheet is published, replacing the previous version entirely. Each version of the spreadsheet reflects only the active agreements at the time of publishing. There is no changelog, no historical archive, and no unique identifiers for individual agreements. Basically, ICE publishes this data in a way that strips it of lots of otherwise helpful metadata.

This report reflects a processed version of the original spreadsheet data from ICE. This includes:
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– fixing typographic errors;
– identifying and editing verifiable discrepancies in agency + jurisdiction names;
– removing errant whitespaces;
– blending in population + location data for jurisdictions (see 'Other data sources');
– addressing other verifiable data entry issues.

For each active agreement, we add a 'Location' using publicly-sourced address data — from the corresponding agency's official website whenever possible — in the format '[City] [State Abbreviation] [ZIP Code]' to align with geographic mapping syntax in Google Data Studio.

The 'Estimated Population' field is pulled for each agreement based on the agency's corresponding jurisdiction, and comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 data.

The government data used in the "287(g)-related arrest" analysis section of the report was provided to (and processed by) the Deportation Data Project by ICE in response to a FOIA request. It covers 713,464 'Administrative Arrests' recorded by the agency between October 01, 2022 and March 10, 2026.

For the purposes of this report and analysis, '287(g)-related arrests' includes the 29,500 records in this dataset tagged with at least one label indicating the arrest was connected with the 287(g) program:
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‘Apprehension method’ = “287(g) program”
‘Final program’ = “287G Program” or “287g Task Force”
'Operation’ = “HQ Tracking of Processing done by 287(g) authorized State & Local LEAs”

We use Google Data Studio (previously known as Looker Studio) to host the report. Our processed and enriched dataset syncs directly into Data Studio, helping to ensure accurate, consistent + timely data across each chart, map, etc. in the report.

You can learn more about Data Studio via this user guide, or through this short training, which is part of a longer course from Google on 'data journalism').

Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act gives Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the authority to enter into partnership agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies, effectively deputizing certain officers in participating agencies to perform certain immigration enforcement functions.

There are three (3) models of the program, each with varying degrees of delegated authority, expectations, and liabilities — and incentives for partipating agencies. And agreements can be signed by law enforcement agencies across three (3) levels of government:
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County agencies (like sheriffs' and district attorneys' offices)
Municipal agencies (like local police departments and university campus police)
State agencies (like state police/highway patrols and prisons)

The program has expanded rapidly since January 2025, growing from 135 active agreements to 2,019 as of late June 2026.

There are three (3) versions of the 287(g) program:
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Jail Enforcement Model (JEM):
Designated officers in a local jail, state prison, etc. screen arrested individuals against federal immigration databases upon book-in at the facility.
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Warrant Service Officer (WSO):
Designated officers are authorized to execute existing administrative warrants issued by ICE.
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Task Force Model (TFM):
The most expansive version, in which participating officers are effectively deputized to enforce federal immigration law in the course of their normal police work. Task Force officers can question and arrest individuals for suspected violations of civil immigration law during routine law enforcement activity, after a short online training from ICE.

The Task Force Model was previously halted in 2012 due to racial profiling concerns, but was reactivated shortly after the January 2025 presidential inauguration, and has seen rapid adoption (particularly among municipal agencies) since. As of June 24, 2026, there are 1,317 Task Force Model agreements — representing a large majority (65.8%) of total active agreements.