New data shows there have been nearly 5,000 ICE arrests in Kentucky since the beginning of the Trump administration, and a growing number are the direct result of 287(g) agreements between local law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. There are now 55 local agencies in Kentucky with a 287(g) agreement, 50 of which are the problematic Task Force Model that deputizes local law enforcement officers to question, detain and arrest people for civil immigration violations while performing their regular duties.
Since last November, at least 257 ICE arrests in Kentucky were through the 287(g) program. In the first five days of August 2026 alone, there were 73 ICE arrests, 12 of which were through the 287(g) program.
Number of 287(g) agreements in Kentucky nearly doubled in past six months
The number of 287(g) partnerships between ICE and state and local law enforcement agencies has exploded in recent months, in part due to financial incentives in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) that went into effect October 1 of last year. In Kentucky, there are now 55 287(g) agreements across 53 agencies — up from 30 agreements across 24 different agencies back in February.
Task Force Model
The 287(g) Task Force Model empowers state or local law enforcement to make immigration arrests during routine policing and was discontinued from 2012 until January 2025 due to documented civil rights abuses. The number of Task Force Model agreements in Kentucky has grown from 20 in February to 50 as of this publication:
- Adair County Sheriff’s Office (6/25/2026)
- Bracken County Sheriff’s Office (5/8/2025)
- Brodhead Police Department (3/17/2026)
- Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office (3/28/2026)
- Burkesville Police Department (6/23/2026)
- Butler County Sheriff’s Office (9/9/2025)
- Campbellsville Police Department (8/7/2026)
- Carlisle County Sheriff’s Office (12/8/2025)
- Carroll County Sheriff’s Office (2/23/2026)
- Clay County Sheriff’s Office (3/19/2026)
- Clinton County Sheriff’s Office (9/9/2025)
- Daviess County Sheriff’s Office (3/10/2025)
- Falmouth Police Department (1/30/2026)
- Ferguson Police Department (6/9/2026)
- Floyd County Sheriff’s Office (7/26/2026)
- Fulton County Sheriff’s Office (11/10/2025)
- Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office (4/27/2026)
- Garrard County Sheriff’s Office (7/20/2026)
- Glasgow Police Department (3/31/2026)
- Grayson County Sheriff’s Office (3/5/2025)
- Hart County Sheriff’s Office (6/22/2026)
- Hazard Police Department (3/6/2026)
- Heritage Creek Police Department (4/29/2025)
- Hickman County Sheriff’s Office (11/14/2025)
- Hickman Police Department (1/7/2026)
- Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (3/24/2026)
- Laurel County Sheriff’s Office (1/7/2026)
- Letcher County Sheriff’s Office (3/23/2026)
- Livingston Police Department (4/5/2026)
- Lyon County Sheriff’s Office (5/8/2025)
- Manchester Police Department (6/17/2026)
- Marshall County Sheriff’s Office (5/8/2025)
- McCracken County Sheriff’s Office (1/26/2026)
- Middlesboro Police Department (3/8/2026)
- Millersburg Police Department (8/5/2026)
- Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (12/8/2025)
- Morganfield Police Department (6/9/2026)
- Oldham County Sheriff’s Office (5/5/2026)
- Pendleton County Sheriff’s Office (1/26/2026)
- Rockcastle County Sheriff’s Office (3/6/2026)
- Rowan County Sheriff’s Office (2/18/2026)
- Scott County Sheriff’s Office (7/2/2025)
- Simpson County Sheriff’s Office (8/17/2026)
- Union County Sheriff’s Office (5/16/2025)
- Warsaw Police Department (6/23/2026)
- Wayne County Sheriff’s Office (4/15/2026)
- West Liberty Police Department (4/29/2026)
- Whitley County Sheriff’s Office (7/3/2026)
- Williamsburg Police Department (5/12/2026)
- Winchester Police Department (1/7/2026)
Jail Enforcement Model
With the Jail Enforcement Model, corrections officers are deputized by the federal government to interrogate people about their immigration status. There are currently three of these 287(g) agreements in Kentucky:
- Grayson County Detention Center (3/5/2025)
- Kenton County Sheriff’s Office (5/2/2025)
- Oldham County Detention Center (3/10/2025)
Warrant Service Officer Model
With the Warrant Service Officer Model, ICE trains, certifies and authorizes state and local law enforcement officers to serve and execute administrative immigration warrants on people who are in custody in their agency’s jail. There are currently two of this type of 287(g) agreements in Kentucky:
- Grayson County Detention Center (3/5/2025)
- Oldham County Detention Center (3/10/2025)
Number of ICE arrests resulting from 287(g) agreements is growing
ICE arrests were at record highs this summer, and a growing share is the result of the 287(g) program.
This time last year only about 3% of ICE arrests nationally were 287(g) arrests; however, around 14% are now. According to the new data from Deportation Data Project, there have been 257 ICE arrests in Kentucky through the 287(g) program thus far — most of which occurred in the past several months:
| Month | ICE arrests through 287(g) programs |
| Nov. 2025 | 1 |
| Dec. 2025 | 5 |
| Jan. 2026 | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | 17 |
| March 2026 | 23 |
| April 2026 | 22 |
| May 2026 | 36 |
| June 2026 | 65 |
| July 2026 | 70 |
| Aug. 1-5 2026 | 12 |
There was a record high of 443 ICE arrests in Kentucky in July, 15.8% of which were through the 287(g) program.
Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
