FAQs on Immigration Authority of Local Law Enforcement

Enforcement
Publication Date

This FAQ explains questions of legal authority for local law enforcement agencies to be involved in immigration enforcement.  Specifically, the document reviews recent court decisions and examines how the law is evolving in regard to ICE detainers, administrative immigration warrants, and other immigration enforcement mechanisms that local law enforcement may encounter.  The FAQ clarifies that even if there is probable cause to believe that a person is unlawfully present, this is not a basis to arrest, because local law enforcement officers do not have authority to enforce civil immigration law.