Trump's deportation push is rewiring U.S. policing, ACLU report says

The big picture: Neighborhood streets, roads, schools, worksites, hospitals, courts and wildlife areas have turned into enforcement zones, officials say.

• That blurring of enforcement lines often has made it harder for people to know who's stopping them, what authority they have and who can be held accountable.
• Such confusion has been a backdrop to several violent incidents involving ICE agents this year, including four fatal shootings — two during the past week, in Houston and Biddeford, Maine.

By the numbers: The ACLU says more than 25,000 federal law enforcement officers outside ICE were diverted to immigration enforcement at various points during 2025, citing outside analyses based on government data.

• The report says that included an estimated 9,161 FBI personnel, or at least one in five FBI special agents.
• An unprecedented $240 billion has been directed into immigration enforcement through congressional reconciliation bills since July 2025, as Trump has pushed to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants.
• About 12,000 new ICE agents were hired in record time in 2025.

What they found: The ACLU reviewed 1,213 cases from January through December 2025 across Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland and New Mexico, using public records, legal filings, news reports, visual evidence and congressional material.

• The ACLU found 375 incidents involving force or threatened force, including 241 involving physical force.
• The report says agents pushed, shoved, tackled or pinned people 418 times, deployed chemical irritants 361 times, used stun guns 33 times and smashed vehicle windows 47 times.

Context: ICE suspended most vehicle stops during enforcement operations nationwide after this week's fatal shootings, but Trump reversed that decision Wednesday, calling the tactic one of the agency's "most important and effective" tools.

Zoom in: ICE is leveraging a war chest of more than $250 million to deputize state and local police into its deportation operations.

• The policy group FWD.us says ICE has paid or promised $257 million to state and local agencies under what's known as 287(g) agreements, with incentive payments totaling more than $40,000 per participating officer in some agencies. The group estimates total 2026 payouts could reach $1.4 billion to $2 billion.
• State agencies such as the Florida Highway Patrol and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries now are conducting routine immigration sweeps, the ACLU found.

Zoom out: The scale of the deployment is creating a chaotic environment on U.S. streets.

• Federal agents are increasingly relying on masked operations, unmarked vehicles, and gear simply labeled "POLICE," making it difficult for the public to identify who is conducting the enforcement.
• This tactic has led to confusion and eroded community trust in genuine local law enforcement, the ACLU says.

Caveat: The report doesn't specify how many arrests were made by non-ICE or non-Border Patrol agencies from January through December 2025.

The other side: The White House referred questions to ICE.

• ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions from Axios.
• Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Breitbart News last month that DHS is expanding its plans for more local and state law enforcement departments to join enforcement partnerships with the federal government.
• "When they partner with us, we reimburse. We'll reimburse you for equipment. We reimburse the time of the officer," he told the outlet.

Between the lines: The ACLU argues that the blurring of federal, state, and local police into one deportation force weakens Congress' ability to know which agency acted, who funded it, and who should answer for any abuses.

• Because the ICE and Customs and Border Patrol funding surge came largely through reconciliation, the ACLU argues, Congress made routine oversight harder by avoiding the usual annual appropriations process.