OKLAHOMA COUNTY – The Warr Acres Police Department has entered into an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to carry out immigration enforcement actions, marking another escalation for ICE activity within the boundaries of Oklahoma City.
With a new agreement signed by Warr Acres Police Chief Michael Anderson in early September, the city’s police force joins a growing number of law enforcement agencies partnering with ICE across the surrounding OKC metro area, even as the Oklahoma City Police Department and Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office still have no such agreements.
Under what’s known as a 287(g) agreement, agencies across Oklahoma are being empowered to carry out immigration investigations, interrogations, arrests, and patrols, while potentially also collecting additional funding and financial incentives from the federal government.
The Warr Acres agreement takes the form of a Task Force Model, referred to as “the broadest range of immigration-enforcement responsibilities” by the Oklahoma Policy Institute, a nonpartisan policy research center and think tank that is tracking the 287(g) agreements across Oklahoma.
Warr Acres hoping for payday with ICE agreement
While the option for state and local law enforcement agencies to partner with ICE has been available since 1996 (under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) the agreements have significantly expanded under the second Trump administration and its ongoing immigration crackdown that’s seen deadly violence and substantial pushback nationwide.
A new reimbursement program announced by the Department of Homeland Security last year promises sizeable federal payouts to local agencies with officers that get trained and certified in immigration enforcement, and departments across the country have been racing to get a piece of that funding ever since.
The Warr Acres City Council discussed the possible financial benefit of the police’s new agreement during a presentation by Chief Anderson at the August 18th meeting.
“Ultimately, the bottom line,” said Chief Anderson, addressing the council, “is that we would get somewhere between 1.2 and 1.3 million dollars in reference to that that would be used and dispersed according to the agreement.”
The Warr Acres City Council did not vote on the agreement as Chief Anderson is empowered to sign agency agreements without council approval.
Additionally, a separate one-time federal stipend for new police vehicles and equipment was discussed as part of the agreement with ICE.
“It’s a chunk of change I can’t look past,” Chief Anderson said.
The 287(g) agreement with the Warr Acres Police Department went into effect September 4th, but the full Memorandum of Agreement has not yet been published online.
No agreements for OKC or County, but for cities inside
Though Oklahoma City has seen no shortage of ICE activity and immigration arrests carried out almost daily by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol – which has deputized its entire force statewide under 287(g) – both the Oklahoma City Police Department and Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office currently do not have any active agreement with ICE.
Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson formally requested that he be allowed to explore such an agreement with ICE in August, but that request was declined by County Commissioners following pushback from resident speakers in the room.
That makes Warr Acres now only the second police department within Oklahoma County – and the second enclave fully within the bounds of Oklahoma City – to sign a 287(g), joining the much smaller Valley Brook, which signed an agreement with ICE in June of this year.
Surrounding counties rapidly signing ICE agreements
With OKC and Oklahoma County currently without formal agreements with ICE, surrounding cities and counties – including some of the far edges of the OKC metro area – have been rapidly signing 287(g) agreements in recent weeks and months:
- Canadian County Sheriff’s Office approved a Task Force Model agreement in March of this year after having lesser 287(g) models in place since 2020
- Piedmont Police Department approved a Task Force Model agreement in May
- Logan County Sheriff’s Office has operated on a Jail Enforcement Model agreement since February of 2025, empowering deputies to identify the immigration status of those in local custody and to facilitate transfers to ICE detention
- Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and the Wellston Police Department all separately signed into new Task Force Model agreements with ICE just last week, between October 14th and 17th
No police force or agency in Cleveland County has yet signed a 287(g).
More than 100 Oklahoman law enforcement agencies statewide have signed 287(g) agreements, resulting in over 1,800 arrests just between January and July of this year, a record number of arrests for the state.
According to statistics from the Deportation Data Project, fewer than 20% of those arrested in immigration enforcements in that time had any prior conviction or criminal history.
Brett Fieldcamp is the owner and Editor in Chief of Oklahoma City Free Press. He has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly two decades and served as Arts & Entertainment Editor before purchasing the company from founder Brett Dickerson in 2026.
He is also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
