Idaho expands its cooperation with ICE with new agreement

Carolyn Komatsoulis, The Idaho Statesman on Sep 2, 2026

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BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Correction signed what’s called a “warrant service officer” cooperation agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which allows officers to enforce administrative warrants within an agency’s own jail.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Wednesday touted the partnership, known as a 287(g) agreement, saying Idaho “has a responsibility to uphold the rule of law and protect the people of our state.” Little previously announced the Idaho State Police had signed up for a more intensive version of the program called a “task force model,” so that state troopers could transport people who were convicted of serious crimes and had finished their sentences to ICE.

“This agreement gives Idaho another tool to make sure criminal aliens who are subject to federal immigration enforcement are transferred to federal custody when they have completed their Idaho sentences,” Little said. “Idaho will continue working with the Trump administration to secure our communities and support the enforcement of our nation’s laws.”

For Little, there have also been missteps on the way, including when his office incorrectly announced which version of the program state police were joining. State police also transported immigrants who had no history of violent convictions, according to previous Statesman reporting.

Earlier this year, video circulated of Little calling some of his opponent’s supporters in the governor’s race “straight racist,” which exemplified the split in Idaho’s Republican Party over the intensity of immigration enforcement, according to previous Statesman reporting.

The new “warrant service” agreement is sometimes considered the lightest version of the program, and Little hasn’t spoken about immigration in harsh terms, the way some other Idaho politicians have. He also asked the state police not to transport any immigrants other than just-released prisoners, according to the head of the state police, who attributed it to a desire to protect local industries that depend on foreign-born labor.

Several lawmakers attempted to crack down on immigration during the 2026 legislative session, but all but one bill failed to make it over the finish line. Lawmakers tried twice to require every law enforcement agency in the state to apply for these 287(g) agreements, which drew the ire of Idaho law enforcement. As of Wednesday afternoon, 14 Idaho agencies have signed up.

Immigration enforcement in Idaho has ratcheted up since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025.

ICE arrests with detentions have skyrocketed in Idaho from 15 in December 2024 to a recent peak of 213 in June 2026, according to numbers from the Deportation Data Project. The federal agency also joined a sweeping raid in Wilder last fall and used Nampa’s automated license plate reader system to view and search plates.

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