Immigration enforcement efforts have ramped up significantly in the first year of President Donald Trump's second term. That's had big implications in other cities. But some local counties also play a significant role in the process.
Aggressive tactics by ICE and Border Patrol agents in places like Chicago and Minneapolis have grabbed big headlines. And the potential end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants has put a spotlight on Springfield, Ohio, where roughly 10,000 immigrants from the Central American country have settled.
Protesters have decried the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. They've also called out the fact that most detainees nationally — about 86% — have not been accused or convicted of violent offenses.
The Trump administration has argued that it's simply upholding America's immigration laws and delivering on campaign promises that carried Trump to victory in the 2024 presidential election.
Closer to home, six counties in Greater Cincinnati have some agreement with the federal government to help arrest, detain or transport people picked up by federal agents on immigration-related charges. Those agreements have caused concern and anger among some residents. But they also vary in their scope.
What is 287(g)?
One way in which counties and other municipalities can work with the Department of Homeland Security is via the 287(g) program.
These are separate agreements from those counties enter into with U.S. Marshals in order to hold DHS detainees in local jails.
There are four types of 287(g) agreement:
- The Jail Enforcement Model, aimed at identifying and processing people suspected of immigration offenses in local jails.
- The Task Force Model, which gives local law enforcement limited power to engage in immigration enforcement activities under ICE supervision.
- The Tribal Task Force Model, which gives the same powers to tribal law enforcement officers.
- The Warrant Service Officer Model, which allows ICE to train state and local law enforcement officers to serve administrative warrants for immigration offenses in local jails.
Four local counties participate in 287(g). Others hold separate contracts — called Intergovernmental Service Agreements — for detaining people arrested by federal immigration officers. Some counties have both.
Here's a breakdown of which communities participate in agreements with DHS, and what those agreements look like.
Ohio
Butler County
The Butler County Sheriff's Office has held a contract with the Department of Homeland Security to house immigration detainees in the Butler County Jail since 2003. It ended that contract in 2021, but entered into a new one shortly after Trump started his second term.
Under the contract, the BCSO currently receives $105 a day per detainee for housing and transportation. That's up from $68 a day when the sheriff entered into the contract last year. The BCSO says it houses between 300 and 400 people detained by the federal government on immigration matters at any given time. Generally, about 70% of those detainees don't have criminal convictions, according to DHS data.
Advocates for immigrants — and some immigrants held in the jail themselves — have claimed the jail doesn't provide adequate conditions. Complaints include insufficient medical care, lack of heat, overcrowding and other issues.
A number of Butler County residents have echoed those concerns as well as broader moral issues involving ICE. Many have requested the county end its contracts with DHS.
"We do not want to be the next county or city that is in national news about the harm that has been done to people in our area," Oxford resident Terri Spahr Nelson told Butler County commissioners at a commission meeting last month.
Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones has forcefully denied allegations the jail's conditions are sub-standard. An inspection last year by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections found the jail was over capacity. But it later issued a variance allowing more people in the facility, bringing the jail into compliance. ODRC's records say inspectors did not find evidence of inadequate medical care or insufficient heat.
The contract between DHS and BCSO stipulates that medical care for immigration detainees will be paid by DHS. Recent reporting by CBS and other outlets suggests the department has ceased paying some third-party health care contractors at federal detention sites.
WVXU has reached out to BCSO to confirm whether the federal government is still paying for medical care for immigration detainees, or if the county now covers those costs. WVXU has also requested federal inspection records of the Butler County Jail.
BCSO has also entered into both Jail Enforcement and Task Force 287(g) agreements, according to DHS records.
Clermont County
The Clermont County Sheriff's Office entered into a Task Force Model 287(g) agreement with the Department of Homeland Security in November 2025, after the Clermont County Commission approved the partnership.
Since that time, records requested by WVXU show five Clermont County deputies have received training from ICE to participate in immigration enforcement actions. Those actions have led to the arrest of at least three people, according to CCSO records.
Clermont County Jail has held about 20 people with ICE detainers since entering into the agreement, records show. But those seem to be people who came into the jail on other charges and were then placed under immigration enforcement. A registry of ICE detention facilities — which lists other county jails in this article — does not include the Clermont County Jail.
The CCSO's 287(g) contract states the county doesn't get reimbursed for its participation, but does get free training and IT infrastructure as part of its role helping DHS.
In addition to the five deputies participating, records show CCSO vehicles — including at least one county-owned Ford F150 and a county-owned Ford Explorer — also have been utilized as part of the program.
Hamilton County
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office does not have any agreements to work with Department of Homeland Security agents or to house people detained by federal immigration officers. It does enter inmates' identifying information into databases available to federal agents and honors immigration detainers put on inmates brought into the jail for other reasons.
Warren County
The Warren County Sheriff's Office also entered into a Task Force Model 287(g) agreement with the Department of Homeland Security in November of last year.
WVXU has requested records showing how many deputies are participating in immigration enforcement actions and results so far.
The Warren County Sheriff's Office directed WVXU to DHS in response to a request for records related to the county's participation in the 287(g) program, saying it was prohibited from releasing those records itself.
Like Clermont's agreement, the Memorandum of Agreement between Warren County and DHS says the county doesn't get direct compensation for its participation in 287(g).
ICE's registry of detention facilities does not list Warren County Jail or other facilities in the county.
Kentucky
Kenton County
Like Butler, Clermont and Warren counties in Ohio, Kenton County has 287(g) agreements with the Department of Homeland Security. It participates in the Jail Enforcement and Warrant Service models.
The Kenton County Jail also holds people on DHS immigration detainers via an agreement the county signed in March 2025. The jail had more than 130 people on federal immigration holds as of late January, according to DHS data compiled by a group called Relevant Research. Roughly 100 had no criminal charges. That's up from roughly 80 in summer 2025.
A Jan. 22 report from the Kentucky Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections shows Kenton County Jail is 29 people over capacity.
WVXU has requested records showing the jail's DHS detainee population over time as well as federal inspection records.
The agreement has caused some pushback by Kenton County residents. A group gathered at a Jan. 27 Kenton County Fiscal Court meeting to ask the county to end its 287(g) agreement.
"Restore the community's trust," county resident Michael Staverman said. "These 287(g) contracts are toxic."
Kenton County Jailer Mark Fields oversees the agreement with DHS. He's been a vocal supporter of the partnership. Others have come to Kenton County Fiscal Court to voice support for the county's agreement with DHS as well. One of them was Kenton County resident Aaron Anderson.
"I'm simply here to tell you that you need to continue the agreement," he told the fiscal court Feb. 10.
Boone County
Boone County does not have a 287(g) agreement with DHS. But the Boone County Jailer Jason Maydak does oversee a contract with U.S. Marshals that allows the jail to hold DHS immigration detainees. It has held that contract since 2005.
The Boone County Detention Center had roughly 200 DHS immigration detainees in late January. More than 130 of those detainees did not have criminal charges. WVXU has requested more data on the number of detainees in 2024 and 2025.
As in other counties, some Boone County residents also have questioned the county's contract with DHS.
"The jail is no longer primarily a community institution," county resident Brian Mauer said Feb. 10. "It is now a logistical hub for the federal government's unconstitutional schemes ... Under our constitution we're not supposed to treat a person like a prisoner when they have no ability to challenge their detention, and yet we do."
Other critics have said the jail has at times been over capacity due to DHS detainees. A Jan. 22 report from the Kentucky Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, the latest available at the time of publication, showed the Kenton County Jail was nine people over capacity.
"Having additional individuals over capacity at the jail is going to put correction officers, detainees and Boone County residents all at higher risk of injuries to themselves or each other," resident Amber Hoffman said to the county fiscal court at its Feb. 10 meeting.
But Boone County officials have defended what they say is a long-standing agreement between the federal government and the county. They also say they stand behind conditions at the jail.
"Neither the jail nor the sheriff has a 287(g) agreement with ICE," Boone County Judge Executive Gary Moore said Feb. 10. "Boone County and the Marshals Service have worked collaboratively for nearly 40 years ... The Federal Bureau of Prisons and federal agencies inspect our county jail to ensure it's in compliance since we do have a contract to house their prisoners from time to time."
ICE records show a series of federal inspections by the Office of Detention Oversight in 2023 and 2024 found the jail largely compliant with standards but did note multiple deficiencies when it came to timely access to medical care for DHS detainees. WVXU has requested more recent inspections by the ODO.
Campbell County
Campbell County does not have a 287(g) contract with DHS, but like Boone County, has a separate agreement to house immigration detainees at the Campbell County Detention Center.
As of late January, there were roughly 130 people on DHS detainers there, including 113 without criminal charges.
Some Campbell County residents have weighed in with questions about the agreement between DHS and the county. Susan Hoffman spoke before the Campbell County Fiscal Court Jan. 21 to ask the county to reconsider its contract with DHS.
"By all means, we need a reasonable immigration policy," she said. "But we can do it without this type of cruelty we've been seeing."
Campbell County Jailer Jim Daley said the county's contract with the Department of Justice to house federal prisoners goes back to at least 1997. He said the agreement was updated last April to allow ICE to house immigration detainees in the Campbell County Detention Center. But he said county officials aren't interested in entering into a 287(g) contract.
"We don't have any of our folks deputized by ICE or any other federal entity," Daley said at a Feb. 4 Campbell County Fiscal Court meeting.
Daley also defended the jail's conditions, as well as Campbell County's practice of not listing DHS detainees. Daley said regulations actually prohibit listing federal detainees, though most other local jails do so.
At the Feb. 4 fiscal court meeting, county resident James Schutz asked if Campbell County could seek an amendment to its federal contract so it could list DHS detainees.
"There's a benefit to showing up on a jail tracker so that folks, family, can figure out where these people are," he said. "Are we able to look into amending these contracts to have that available?"
Daley said it might be possible to amend the contract, but he didn't think it was necessary.
"I expect we could," he said. "I have no burning desire to do that," he said. "We never have. I see no true benefit. If their families want to know where they are, within 48 hours of coming into our facility they have access to mail, they have access to phones, they have access to pads. Their family knows where they're at."
WVXU has requested records showing the jail's DHS detainee population over time, as well as federal inspection records.
Indiana
WVXU also reviewed information about counties in Southeastern Indiana. None are listed on ICE's registry of detention centers or in its list of municipalities participating in the 287(g) program. WVXU has reached out to officials in Ohio, Switzerland and Dearborn Counties to confirm they do not have formal agreements with DHS.
— Additional reporting by Becca Costello and Dany Villarreal Martinez
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