An ICE detainer (Form I-247/I-247A) is an administrative request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement asking a local, state, or federal jail to: (1) notify ICE before releasing a person and/or (2) hold the person for up to 48 hours (excluding weekends/holidays) so ICE can assume custody. Detainers are not judicial warrants and are legally treated as a non‑binding request in many jurisdictions; they have been subject to legal challenges about their binding force and Fourth Amendment limits.
‘Partnering and cooperating’ with ICE typically means state/local agencies do one or more of: honor ICE detainers (notify and hold people for up to 48 hours), enter 287(g) MOAs to deputize officers to perform immigration functions, allow ICE to interview/screen people in jails (CAP/Secure Communities), share biometric and booking data, transfer custody to ICE, or execute ICE administrative warrants. The exact activities depend on agreements and local policies.
The DHS numbers (6,947 released; 7,113 with active detainers) are figures stated in the DHS press release; the release does not publish underlying datasets or methodology. Independent public verification is limited: ICE/DHS internal case-management databases are the likely source but DHS/ICE have not released a public line‑by‑line accounting for these counts, and I find no independent audit or third‑party dataset that confirms those exact totals as of the date of the release.
Yes. Under the Constitution and Supreme Court precedents, states and state officials generally may refuse to assist federal immigration enforcement (anti‑commandeering doctrine). A governor can direct state/local agencies and officers (to the extent they are state actors) not to honor ICE detainers or enter 287(g) agreements; federal law cannot force state or local police to perform federal duties. However, the federal government can lawfully detain and remove noncitizens and can seek cooperation via MOAs, grants, or other incentives. Legal disputes can arise over specific practices (e.g., whether local holds without warrant violate the Fourth Amendment).
Tricia McLaughlin is the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans (or a DHS Assistant Secretary level official referenced in DHS statements); in the press release she is quoted describing DHS policy and urging state cooperation. (DHS organizational pages identify Assistant Secretaries and their roles in shaping strategy and public messaging for DHS components including ICE.)
DHS/ICE use terms like “criminal illegal alien” to refer to non‑U.S. citizens who have criminal convictions or arrests in ICE/departmental records; DHS counts offenses by matching ICE detainers or custody records to the agency’s charge/conviction fields. However, standards vary (arrest vs. conviction, charging codes, differences across jurisdictions), and DHS releases typically do not describe whether counts reflect convictions, pending charges, or arrest allegations—so the precise standard for the counted offenses is not fully documented in the release.