Overview
- ICE has proposed paying up to $250 a year to reimburse deputized local officers who buy professional liability policies that cover up to $500,000 for legal fees, settlements and judgments.
- The agency’s planning document says it may hire a contractor to run outreach, select an insurance vendor and process reimbursements, but it gives no clear launch date or total cost and it is seeking industry feedback on the plan.
- Law-enforcement groups including the National Sheriffs’ Association said the idea could ease reluctance among sheriffs to join 287(g) partnerships by reducing personal and local financial risk.
- Civil-rights advocates and policy critics warned the payment could further insulate officers from personal accountability for alleged misconduct and shift the cost of defending suits from individuals to insurers or the government.
- The proposal comes as ICE’s local partnerships have grown sharply — nearly 1,600 agencies in 32 states now participate — and as some municipal insurers have excluded proactive immigration enforcement, forcing counties to buy separate, costly coverage.