The Idaho Department of Correction has entered a formal agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allows specially trained state prison officials to serve existing federal administrative warrants on people already incarcerated in Idaho. The agreement was signed August 28 and announced by Gov. Brad Little and correction Director Bree Derrick on September 2.
The agreement uses ICE's Warrant Service Officer model under section 287(g) of federal immigration law. It does not assign Idaho correction officers to street patrols or authorize them to initiate general immigration investigations. ICE describes the model as authority for designated officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on people who are already in their agency's custody.
What changes inside Idaho prisons
Under the arrangement, selected Idaho correction officials will receive federal training and certification before exercising delegated authority under ICE supervision. ICE says its training covers immigration law, multicultural communication and avoiding racial profiling. State officials can then serve an ICE warrant while a person remains in an Idaho prison and coordinate a transfer to federal custody after the person's state sentence is complete.
Derrick said the memorandum creates a clearer formal process for work the department already performs. IDOC has historically shared information about people incarcerated for felony convictions so ICE can determine whether an immigration detainer or other action applies. The department also facilitates due-process hearings for people in removal proceedings and coordinates with ICE when state custody ends, according to the governor's announcement.
The practical distinction matters. ICE lists three 287(g) models: jail enforcement, task force and warrant service. The Warrant Service Officer model is the narrowest of the three and is tied to people already in custody. By contrast, the task-force model can delegate limited immigration authority during routine police duties. Idaho's new prison agreement is a warrant-service agreement, while a separate 2025 agreement with Idaho State Police supports specified transportation and custody functions.
A broader Idaho expansion
IDOC is the second Idaho state agency and the latest of numerous Idaho law-enforcement bodies to join a 287(g) arrangement. A review by the Idaho Capital Sun identified participating sheriff's offices, Idaho State Police and the Post Falls Police Department, with agencies using different program models. That variation means the new prison agreement should not be read as giving every participating Idaho officer the same authority.
Little framed the agreement as part of his Operation No Return initiative and said it would help ensure people subject to federal immigration enforcement are transferred after completing Idaho sentences. ICE presents 287(g) partnerships as a public-safety tool, while civil-rights groups have criticized local participation and raised concerns about profiling and community trust. The signed model limits IDOC's immediate role to the prison setting, but federal immigration proceedings and any detention or removal decision remain under federal authority.
For incarcerated people and their families, the operational change is that a trained IDOC official may now serve the federal warrant before release from state custody. The agreement does not shorten an Idaho sentence or itself decide whether a person is removable; those questions remain governed by the state judgment and federal immigration process.
