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How to Check Whether a State Police Agency Publishes Immigration-Enforcement Policies and Agreements

A practical method for checking state police websites, ICE and state records, and public-records request options for immigration policies and agreements.
Length4 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Check the state police agency’s official website, search for formal terms such as “287(g)” and “Memorandum of Agreement,” then verify federal and state sources. If you cannot find a record online, request existing documents from the agency under state public-records law and from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through federal FOIA. A failed search does not prove that no policy or agreement exists.

1. Identify the agency and its official website

Start with the agency’s exact formal name and confirm it in the state government’s official directory. This helps avoid confusing state police or highway patrol records with those of a department of public safety, corrections agency, county sheriff, or another law-enforcement body.

On the agency’s site, check its policies or manuals, directives or general orders, agreements and contracts, public-records portal, news releases, and any board or commission materials. Search the site for terms including:

  • “immigration,” “ICE,” “DHS,” and “immigration status”
  • “287(g)” and “287(g) agreement”
  • “Memorandum of Agreement” (MOA) and “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU)
  • “immigration detainer,” “cooperation,” “joint task force,” and “federal law enforcement”

Do not rely only on the site’s search box. It may miss PDFs or archived pages. Search the open web with the agency’s domain and each relevant term as well.

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2. Check ICE records for formal 287(g) agreements

Section 287(g) authorizes ICE to delegate specified immigration-officer functions to state and local officers under ICE direction and supervision. ICE’s 287(g) program page is an important place to check for a formal partnership. Search for the agency’s name, then look for the agreement itself, attachments, and amendments where available. A general statement about cooperation with federal authorities is not, by itself, evidence of a 287(g) agreement.

For each agreement, note the named agency and signatories, execution and effective dates, model or agreement type, delegated functions, supervision and training terms, duration, renewal or termination provisions, and amendments. Compare the agency’s posted copy with federal records if versions or dates differ. Agreements can change status, so state when you checked and distinguish a historical agreement from one currently listed or in force.

3. Look for state-level guidance and oversight records

A state attorney general, department of public safety, immigration or civil-rights office, or oversight body may publish relevant guidance even when the police agency’s own site does not. Search those official sources for the same terms, and keep guidance distinct from an agency policy or an agreement.

For example, on July 1, 2026, the California Attorney General announced guidance and model policies for state and local agencies concerning interactions with immigration authorities, access to agency spaces, information requests, and agency databases. That announcement is specific to California; it does not establish the rules or policies of other states. See the California DOJ announcement.

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4. Request records that are not posted online

Ask the state agency for existing records

Use the state’s public-records law and the agency’s designated request channel. Request documents rather than asking broad questions. Specify a date range and record categories—for example, current and superseded immigration-related policies, general orders, MOAs or MOUs, ICE or DHS agreements and amendments, training directives, and correspondence about negotiation, implementation, renewal, or termination. Tailor the request to the agency and the records you need.

State procedures, exemptions, response times, and appeal routes vary, so check the rules for the relevant jurisdiction. A focused request might seek all current and superseded policies, agreements, amendments, training materials, and directives concerning state police interactions with ICE, DHS, or other federal immigration authorities for a defined period. Identify relevant agency divisions or likely record custodians when possible.

Ask ICE for federal records

For records held by ICE, first check its FOIA request guidance and FOIA Library. ICE says the library is a place to look for program or operational records such as policies, contracts, reports, and emails. If a record is not already available, describe the record types, date range, and likely ICE office or program as specifically as possible. ICE processes requests for existing records; it does not create new analyses or answer general questions. The DHS FOIA Library is another source of published federal records.

Make separate requests to state and federal custodians when both may hold records. A response from one government does not establish what the other holds.

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5. Compare documents without conflating them

When you find multiple documents or records, compare them by issuer and parties, publication and effective dates, current or superseded status, authority claimed or delegated, operational scope, officers and agencies covered, supervision and training, information-sharing provisions, duration, renewal and termination terms, and stated public-records status.

Keep formal agreements separate from internal policies, state legal guidance, and press statements. They may address the same subject but do not establish the same thing.

6. Describe what you found precisely

Report the source checked, the date, and the outcome. For example, distinguish among these statements:

  • “The agency posts policy X and agreement Y on its public website, checked [date].”
  • “I did not locate a policy or agreement in the agency’s public policy and records pages or in ICE’s 287(g) listing as of [date].”
  • “The agency acknowledged the request but has not produced records.”
  • “The agency stated that it located no responsive records.”
  • “The agency withheld some or all responsive material under a cited exemption.”

These outcomes are not interchangeable. A missing online result does not show that a policy does not exist, and a no-records response from one custodian does not establish that another has no copy. Keep a record of search terms, pages checked, request tracking numbers, and responses so the result can be described accurately.

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