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ICE partnerships raise concerns about local police liability - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers ICE partnerships raise concerns about local police liability by Richard Sine E&O , Emerging Risks , Risk Management Sep 8, 2026 The federal government is offering billions in equipment and other funding to police and sheriffs’ agencies that assist with its expanded immigration enforcement operations, but those local officers and deputies may be exposing themselves to legal liability, experts say. To fulfill the Trump administration’s pledge to carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has set a goal of 2,000 daily arrests and doubled its force since President Donald Trump was reelected. In the process, however, ICE agents have been accused of brutality and reckless killings. In July, the American Civil Liberties Union said it had documented 432 cases of misconduct by immigration agents last year. “Working with ICE under 287(g) would add additional risks that ordinary insurance would not want to cover,” said Wayne C. Beyer, a lawyer for police in misconduct cases and author of a prominent book on the subject. ICE says it has signed 2,430 agreements with local agencies from 39 states for its task force program, known as 287(g). Police and deputies participate in street immigration sweeps, serve warrants and process detainees. Agencies that sign up for the task force receive a one-time $100,000 transportation payment, quarterly $15,000 equipment and information technology stipends for each officer and up to 100% salary reimbursement while officers are involved in ICE activity. Separately, in August, the U.S. Department of Justice announced up to $3 billion in grants to states and municipalities for law enforcement. The grants are only available to forces that “fully participate” in 287(g). In February 2025, border czar Tom Homan told a group of sheriffs that he intended to lower the cost of participating in 287(g) by cutting the training period for deputies from four weeks to about one week. Mr. Homan told sheriffs that DHS would help defend them if they were sued, according to the Stateline news service. A DHS spokesman did not address questions about liability but said in a statement that partnerships with local law enforcement are critical to ICE’s immigration enforcement efforts. Last month, though, ICE proposed subsidizing professional liability insurance for 287(g) participants. It plans to subcontract with an insurer that would provide up to $500,000 coverage, with officers reimbursed up to $250 per year for premiums. Local law enforcement could only use its own insurance “if it satisfies the PLI coverage requirements for credentialed (law enforcement officers) performing 287(g) duties, including required coverage limits, scope of covered activities, and geographic applicability,” according to the document. The document does not further detail those requirements. An ICE contracting officer, Diana K. Brozi, said in an email that “many agencies have shown hesitation in signing (memoranda of agreement with ICE) or have not joined because they have been told that they may lose coverage for officers based on participation with ICE.” Up to 30,000 officers will be eligible for insurance by the end of the year, she said. The contract local agencies sign with ICE specifies that deputized officers are “considered to be acting under color of federal authority for purposes of determining the liability and immunity from suit under federal or state law.” Pennsylvania’s risk pool stated to Business Insurance in an email that it would not cover county employee claims for activities undertaken under 287(g) because it expected the federal government to cover them. But even if officers are protected, their employers could face liability, according to some experts. Despite a 287(g) contract, a city or county “remains vulnerable to liability for money damages … for violations of constitutional rights that can be traced to the municipality’s actions, policy, custom, or failure to train or supervise,” leaders of the Ohio American Civil Liberties Union wrote in a letter to sheriffs last year. The letter cited a federal statute that allows people to sue state and local officials for constitutional violations. When writing liability insurance for a law enforcement agency, underwriters typically scrutinize its participation in task forces or other partnerships, said Tyler Skelly, a Philadelphia-based senior vice president with Ryan Specialty Public Entity, a managing general underwriter. Underwriters review details of policies, procedures, training and liability related to the partnerships, she said. They also examine whether departments have sufficient budget and staffing to support them. Ms. Skelly said she had not heard of insurers excluding agencies that participate in the ICE task forces. However, a partnership that “changes a department’s risk profile” could lead to lower limits, higher retentions, or additional policy conditions, she said. The police liability market is “stabilizing” after a severe contraction following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police in 2020, said Ms. Skelly. Since then, departments have been more open with underwriters about their policies and more willing to work with them to manage risks, she added. Regarding the ICE insurance proposal, she said, “Anytime that we can shift exposure outside of a public entity, the better. I think only time will tell if we start to see these suits pop up and what the allegations are. We’ll see the actual impact of them.” Civil rights cases against law enforcement typically take six to eight years to resolve, Ms. Skelly said. “We can assume, as more local agencies come on board under these agreements, that they will get swept up in (legal) claims,” said Michael Rappaport, a University of Chicago law professor who studies law enforcement. “If ICE gets sued, they are going to get sued, too.” Related News Boston Scientific says unlikely to meet sales, forecast after cyberattack September 8, 2026 Aspen’s Dunleavy to take over at Conduit September 8, 2026 Markel chairman to retire, succeeded by CEO September 8, 2026 Cincinnati Insurance found in bad faith over pandemic-era claim denials September 8, 2026 Vantage names Yves Charbonneau chief risk officer September 8, 2026 Indiana court upholds benefits for worker who fainted while driving September 8, 2026 Compre takes on Lloyd’s reserves in retrospective reinsurance deal September 8, 2026 China proposes fivefold increase in insurer capital September 8, 2026 Brown and Brown enters Scottish retail market September 8, 2026 Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Business Insurance is a singular, authoritative news and information source for executives focused upon risk management, risk transfer and risk financing. 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