As federal immigration enforcement expands, local police struggle with cooperation

When Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore signed emergency legislation last month prohibiting agreements between local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities, he was pushing back against one of the fastest-growing pieces of President Donald Trump’s deportation strategy.

The expansion of immigration enforcement hasn’t happened primarily through high-profile raids: It has unfolded through formal partnerships between sheriffs’ offices or local police departments and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under what’s known as the 287(g) program.