Can Bradenton, Palmetto officers act as ICE agents? What police partnership means
Bradenton and Palmetto officials have voluntarily entered an agreement with the federal government that allows local police to take action when arresting a person living in the country illegally.
Both cities’ police departments entered 287(g) agreements with ICE, which include several different options, including the Task Force Model that is used by Bradenton and Palmetto.
Though local law enforcement agencies entered agreements with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), it doesn’t allow them to arrest someone based on immigration status. However, some local advocates within the Latino community worry the agreements may lead to due process issues and heighten existing worries.
According to ICE’s website, the Task Force Model trains officers “to enforce limited immigration authority while performing routine police duties, such as identifying an alien at a DUI checkpoint and sharing information directly with ICE ... These officers may also exercise limited immigration authority as active participants on ICE-led task forces.”
The Bradenton Police Department has been in the agreement since mid-March, and Chief Scott Tyler with the Palmetto Police Department confirmed the Palmetto Police Department entered the same agreement in October.
In November, a related reimbursement agreement was included in the Bradenton City Council’s consent agenda. The consent agenda was approved unanimously without discussion on any items, including a reimbursement extension for the 287(g) agreement.
Earlier this year — amid widespread concern about President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement sweeps — local law enforcement agencies denied direct involvement in immigration enforcement.
What can officers do under ICE agreement?
Meredith Censullo, a spokesperson for the BPD, said the department has 17 officers that completed the 287(g) training.
The primary way officers utilize the training is if an officer arrests someone for a crime and that person is determined to be in the country illegally. The trained officers can then contact the local Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) facility.
“It is important to note that this is not a task force, and these officers do not work as ICE agents. BPD will not arrest someone simply because of their citizenship status,” Censullo said in an email to the Bradenton Herald.
“Trained officers who encounter non-citizens while responding to calls for service may notify the local HSI office,” Censullo continued. “If HSI/ICE confirms that they would like the officer to detain the individual, the officer will transport them to the Manatee County Jail. This time spent contacting ICE, confirming the hold, and transporting the individual must be logged for future reimbursement.”
The recently-approved reimbursement agreement works similarly to reimbursements for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to Censullo — any hours worked beyond regular hours for ICE-related activities can be reimbursed.
Advocates share concerns about agreements
Local attorney CJ Czaia has handled immigration-related cases and co-founded UnidosNow, a regional advocacy group for the Latino community.
As an attorney, Czaia said he’s concerned about agreements like this opening up the possibility of abuse of government. He said more oversight for local law enforcement is necessary.
“My big concern is due process,” Czaia said.
While Czaia agrees that criminals — whether in the country legally or not — should be dealt with, he worries agreements like this could harm due process. He believes the training that officers receive for agreements like this isn’t as inclusive as it should be for dealing with immigration cases.
“We don’t have a lot of checks and balances with law enforcement in our community,” Czaia said, adding that a solid police chief can help, but local boards are lacking. “We have a big failure in our local law enforcement in that way.”
The Immigration Justice Coalition of Southwest Florida also shared concerns about the agreements in a statement to the Bradenton Herald.
“The cities of Bradenton and Palmetto police department’s decision to enter into a 287(g) agreement with the DHS is having a devastating impact on the Latino community. Families are living in fear, afraid, traumatized, and persecuted simply because of the color of the skin,” a spokesperson for the Immigration Justice Coalition of Southwest Florida said. “No city should participate in practices that spread fear, violate justice and compassion.”
Counties required to enter agreements
A state law passed earlier this year requires county law enforcement agencies like the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to enter a 287(g) agreement with ICE.
According to Randy Warren, a spokesperson for the MCSO, the department has operated with the agreement’s Warrant Service Officer program since 2019, and entered the Task Force Model when the state law was passed.
The Warrant Service officer model provides ICE training to local law enforcement officers for those officers to execute administrative warrants on illegal immigrants in the department’s jail.
