U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is proposing a plan to subsidize legal liability insurance for local police officers who make immigration arrests, according to a planning document published Friday.
If implemented, the insurance would protect officers from possible financial consequences if they are accused of misconduct while on duty.
Officers would purchase insurance covering up to $500,000 in liability costs, including legal fees, judgments and settlements. The insurance is expected to cost around $250 each year and officers could be reimbursed annually up to that amount, The Associated Press reports.
Opinions on the insurance program are mixed
Critics of the insurance policy worry it would allow for ICE agents to operate unchecked.
“The concern here is that ICE is going above and beyond to guarantee law enforcement does not have even the slightest risk of liability for violating Americans’ rights while helping ICE arrest people,” said David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, AP reports.
Bier is an ICE critic and has asked Congress to make it easier for ICE agents to be sued for wrongdoing.
Advocates of the program said it could aid more agencies in implementing ICE operations by addressing the concerns of officers wary of joining due to public scrutiny of ICE.
“Right now, any time you are working on immigration there is going to be a much higher potential for there being problems and having suits and issues,” said Justin Smith, executive director of the National Sheriffs’ Association, who said the plan sounds promising.
“They’re recognizing that it is a different environment,” Smith said, according to AP. “And I think trying to be good partners with us as best they can.”
ICE is considering hiring a contractor that would help with outreach services and selecting an insurance vendor to process reimbursements, according to the report.
Potential costs and timelines for implementing the program are still unclear.
ICE operations are expanding with help of participation incentives
This is not the first time ICE operations have been altered to encourage more local agencies to implement ICE’s task force model.
Conditions established in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act allow ICE to issue signing bonuses of up to $50,000. The organization also offers up to $60,000 in student loan repayment and up to 25% in premium pay.
ICE operations have experienced significant growth. The agency includes more than 20,000 law enforcement and support personnel across more than 400 offices, according to ICE data.