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After the Minnesota surge, ICE is moving to a quieter enforcement approach
A Florida Highway Patrol officer looks at pictures of undocumented immigrants accused of crimes before a press conference at the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations building on November 13, 2025 in Miramar, Florida. Florida law enforcement agencies have among the highest ICE cooperation rates in the nation, with state troopers making a significant number of immigration arrests.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America
A shift appears to be underway in how the federal government does immigration enforcement – away from the high-profile show of force seen during the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Minnesota and toward a less visible approach, relying more on local police.
“Partnership is vitally important,” Markwayne Mullin, the new secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, told Congress at his confirmation hearing last month. “I would love to see ICE become a transport more than the front line. If we can get back into just simply working with law enforcement, we’re going to them, we’re picking up these criminals from their jail.”
In a statement to NPR this week, a DHS spokesperson echoed Mullin’s line of thinking: “ICE has supercharged efforts with state and local law enforcement to assist federal immigration officers in our efforts to make America safe again.”
Here’s what to know about how that shift is taking place – and what it might look like in communities around the country.
Why is this shift happening?
The enforcement operation in Minnesota was aggressive and highly visible: federal immigration officers slammed protesters to the ground, deployed tear gas in neighborhoods and outside schools, dragged people from their cars, and ultimately killed two U.S. citizens.
These tactics were also very politically unpopular. In February, an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found that two thirds of Americans said ICE had gone too far.
How do ICE officers work with local and state police?
Mullin’s comments point to increased emphasis on the federal 287(g) program, which allows state and local law enforcement officers to take on some of the duties of ICE officers.
Though the program has existed for decades, the number of police and sheriff’s departments signing up for the program during President Trump’s second term has grown exponentially. During his first term in 2019, there were only 45 agreements. In 2025 alone, there were more than 1,100 agreements, a previous NPR analysis showed. Now, there are more than 1,600 agreements across 39 states, according to ICE.
About a third of the entire U.S. population now lives in a county where a local law enforcement agency has signed a 287(g) agreement, according to an ACLU report released in February.
The most intensive version of the program, called the Task Force Model, deputizes local police to enforce immigration law, including arresting people on ICE’s behalf during regular law enforcement work, like traffic stops. On its website, ICE refers to this model as a “force multiplier.”
That model, discontinued during the Obama administration, was revived when Trump took office again, and now makes up the majority of 287(g) agreements. More than 13,000 police officers around the country are taking part in that model, according to an analysis released earlier this year from FWD.us, an organization that advocates for immigration and criminal justice reform.
How does it affect communities when local police work with ICE?
It’s not uncommon for U.S. law enforcement to work with federal immigration authorities, even without a signed agreement. What has changed in recent years are mandates in states like Florida and Texas, where state officials required some or all law enforcement agencies to join a 287(g) program. In those two states alone, the ACLU report estimates that more than 40 million people live in a place where their local law enforcement signed one of these agreements.
Florida has among the most 287(g) agreements in the nation, along with Texas, according to the latest ICE data.
Coinciding with new enthusiasm from ICE for local partners, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration ramped up pressure on all Florida law enforcement agencies to sign up, despite only sheriffs being required. There were carrots in the form of bonuses for officers that received 287(g) training, and sticks in the form of threats to remove elected officials from office who didn’t sign on.
The campaign was successful. Agencies from the Florida Highway Patrol, to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, to university campus police departments have all signed up to work with ICE.
On the ground, the seemingly ubiquitous partnerships have created a sea change in local policing.
At least 1,800 state troopers on Florida highways are trained to enforce immigration law alongside their regular police duties. That has created situations where traffic stops for minor offenses — like tinted windows or failing to use a turn signal — turn into inquiries into a person’s immigration status, an occurrence happening in Texas as well.
Arrests have risen sharply, with the Florida State Board of Immigration Enforcement reporting at least 10,000 immigration arrests by local agencies alone, not ICE, since last August. The majority of those arrests are made by Florida Highway Patrol troopers.
One county particularly affected is Palm Beach County and the majority-Hispanic city of Lake Worth Beach, where advocates with the Guatemalan-Maya Center have said Florida state troopers are profiling residents.
“ They’ve been the most aggressive in our cities,” Mariana Blanco, director of operations for the center, said at an event earlier this year. “They’re the ones that are targeting, racially profiling our people.”
Additionally, when local police work with ICE, it makes it harder for the community to be aware of immigration enforcement happening near them, says Kristin Etter, director of policy and legal services at the Texas Immigration Law Council.
She says that’s been the case in Texas for years, where local police cooperation with federal authorities represents a much quieter approach than the tactics seen in Minnesota – where observers would track ICE and use whistles to alert neighbors to their presence.
“Your whistle doesn’t work in Texas. You’re not going to need a whistle in Texas because you’re never going to have that Minneapolis moment. They’re going to try to keep this hidden as much as possible,” Etter says.
The fear, she says, is this more hidden form of enforcement will ramp up elsewhere in the country.
How do state and local police feel about working with ICE?
Some agencies that sign up for 287(g) agreements have been offered incentives from the federal government, including reimbursements for salaries, benefits and overtime pay for each officer trained for the Task Force Model, as well as thousands of dollars for new equipment and vehicles.
But beyond the monetary benefits, some sheriffs are also staunch ideological supporters of the Trump administration’s immigration approach.
“They came here to the United States illegally. A crime was committed every minute, every day and every year that that person is still here, they’re still committing the crime. They did not come here the right way,” Sheriff Billy Woods, of Marion County, Fla., said of undocumented immigrants.
Some police leaders across the country have expressed concerns that cooperating with federal immigration authorities erodes community trust – and could make undocumented immigrants and others afraid to call 911 when they are victims of a crime or to participate as witnesses in criminal investigations. Some states, like Maryland, have banned 287(g) agreements.
In Florida, the large number of people arrested by local police has also made some of DeSantis’ most fervent supporters uncomfortable.
“There are those here that are working hard. They have their kids in college or in school. They’re going to church on Sunday. They’re not violating the law. They are living the American dream,” Sheriff Grady Judd, of Polk County, Fla., said at a state immigration board meeting last month.
Judd stressed that he still felt strongly about detaining those who have committed crimes, but said “maybe there needs to be a path” for immigrants who are law-abiding and add to society, though it’s unclear what the sheriff meant specifically.
It’s also unclear if the recent pushback in Florida from several conservative sheriffs will change how immigration enforcement is conducted in the state. So far, immigrant advocates say not much has changed.
THE
OFFICE OF TH
DIRECTOR
*******
OF
NATIONAL
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Director of National Intelligence
May 22, 2026
The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
I am deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half.
Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026. My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.
Abraham has been my rock throughout our eleven years of marriage — standing steadfast through my deployment to East Africa on a Joint Special Operations mission, multiple political campaigns, and now my service in this role. His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge. I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position.
While we have made significant progress at the ODNI — advancing unprecedented transparency and restoring integrity to the intelligence community — I recognize there is still important work to be done. I am fully committed to ensuring a smooth and thorough transition over the coming weeks so that you and your team experience no disruption in leadership or momentum.
Thank you for your understanding during this deeply personal and difficult time for our family. I will remain forever grateful to you and to the American people for the profound honor of serving our nation as DNI.
With love and aloha,
Tulsi Gabbul
Tulsi Gabbard
Director of National Intelligence
A customer pumps gas into his car at a Chevron station on May 4 in Los Angeles, Calif. Gas prices have surged to a 4-year high, as tensions in the Middle East continue. Gasoline in California is over $6 a gallon.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America
The national average for a gallon of gasoline is $4.55, according to AAA; that’s a four-year high, unwelcome news for drivers as the U.S. heads into one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.
AAA estimates a record 45 million Americans will travel this weekend, despite high prices for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
Gasoline prices have been elevated since the start of the war in Iran, and there’s no sign of relief on the horizon. High prices are angering voters and straining household budgets.
In California, which has the highest gasoline prices in the nation, Gov. Gavin Newsom is openly feuding with the oil giant Chevron, discouraging Californians from filling up at its stations.
Chevron and the state have been in a tense relationship for years; Chevron moved its headquarters out of California in 2024 after complaining about state and local regulations, and is currently buying oil shipped through an offshore pipeline that California has attempted to keep shut down. In the latest salvos, Chevron has posted placards at California gas stations blaming state policies for the high prices, while Newsom’s office is telling Californians they can get cheaper gas at unbranded stations.
Californians, if you’re hitting the road this holiday weekend, be sure to AVOID Chevron.
Pro tip: unbranded gas comes from the same refineries, storage tanks, and pipelines, and it meets the same state standards to keep your engine running clean, even if it doesn’t have a fancy… pic.twitter.com/FMTnNHE0Bn
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) May 21, 2026
But where does all this leave drivers? Despite high prices, most Americans are unwilling, or unable, to give up on driving. Americans have been logging more miles since the war with Iran started, according to the analytics company Arity, which tracks driving habits.
What can you do to cut costs? We asked the experts for ideas.
Drive smoothly. Pay less
The key to getting the most miles out of each gallon is driving efficiently. That means smooth acceleration, soft braking and slowing down.
Underinflated tires, heavy boxes in the back seat and an unused ski or luggage rack on the top of the vehicle can also make it less fuel efficient.
Some high-performance vehicles require premium gasoline. But if it’s only recommended, you can skip it without damaging the car, according to Consumer Reports’ deputy auto editor, Jonathan Linkov. “All cars, except the most esoteric supercars or older cars, can run fine on regular,” said Linkov.
Are you considering going electric?
Data suggests that higher gasoline prices have many drivers at least thinking about giving up gas-powered cars altogether.
But the data on sales isn’t so clear-cut. New-EV sales are still depressed following the abrupt end of a $7,500 federal consumer tax credit last fall. It’s also tax refund season, which can push up car sales of all types, compared with the previous month. CarGurus reports that used-EV sales did seem to accelerate in the month of March, and Cox Automotive reports strong prices for used EVs at wholesale auction, noting that rising gas prices “may have positively influenced demand.” On the other hand, data from the sites iSeeCars.com showed no appreciable shift in used-EV sales.
It’s not surprising to see a rise in shoppers’ interest before a rise in actual sales, especially for a purchase as significant as a vehicle. “What consumers are viewing on the site tends to be an earlier indicator than sales,” says Kevin Roberts, the director of economic and market intelligence with CarGurus.
But analysts note that high gasoline prices do motivate shoppers to select for more fuel-efficient or entirely electric vehicles — if prices stay elevated for a long time.
An average driver can save $1,800 a year
The more you drive, the more you stand to save from switching to a battery-powered car, says Janelle London, the co-executive director of a nonprofit called Coltura, which advocates against gasoline. “Across the entire U.S., an average driver doing, say, 15,000 miles a year already is going to save $1,800 a year by switching to an electric car,” London says. “But if you’re talking about a big driver, somebody who does maybe 25,000 miles a year, they’re going to be saving on average $3,000 a year by making the switch.”
And as the cost of gas keeps rising, she says, “we’re seeing the savings just skyrocket up.”
Coltura has an online tool that car shoppers can use to estimate potential savings from going electric.
Those savings vary based not just on how much you drive but also on where you live, thanks to differences in the local prices of gasoline and electricity. Yale Climate Connections recently published a map comparing the price of charging with the price of gasoline, by looking at the cost of enough electricity to take you as far as 1 gallon goes in a similar gas car: In North Dakota, driving an EV is like paying less than a dollar a gallon, but in California it’s more like $2.70 a gallon.
Or you can crunch your personal numbers more precisely by comparing the cost per mile using your own electricity rates, local gasoline prices and the efficiency of the gas and electric vehicles you’re comparing. (The extremely lazy route? Multiply your home’s cost per kilowatt-hour for electricity by 10. That’s very roughly comparable to how many dollars per gallon you’d pay to fuel your car. The national average cost for home electricity is $0.17 right now, so, ballpark, that’s like paying $1.70 for gasoline.)
Consider factors beyond gasoline
If you’re thinking of switching to an EV to save money, there are other factors to weigh as well. Maintenance savings can also be substantial — electric vehicles need new tires and not much else. On the other hand, insurance can be pricey. You might also weigh nonfinancial factors, like how much you value the environmental benefits of an EV or the merits of a quiet ride.
Charging is also crucial. Can you charge at home, which is far more convenient and affordable than charging at stations? If so, will you need to install a dedicated, higher-speed charger, which comes with an installation cost, or can you get by with a standard outlet?
The more you drive and the larger your vehicle is, the more likely it is you’ll need to add a charger. The Environmental Protection Agency has a calculator that can help with that decision.
Could you get by without driving at all?
Another option, of course, is to pursue alternatives to driving.
But data compiled by the app Transit shows that ridership was steady for most of March and actually dropped slightly in the week ending April 4.
That’s no surprise, says Stephen Miller, the policy lead at Transit; the Easter holiday may have pulled ridership down, and gas prices have been elevated only for a few weeks. “Historically, people only make larger changes that show up as a significant shift from driving to public transit if the price of gas goes up — and stays up,” he says. Year over year, transit ridership continues to increase overall, although it has yet to fully recover from the collapse in public transit use at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jerick White, who lives in Houston, bought his first e-bike in March. There were several reasons explaining why he switched from a car to two wheels, but saving on gasoline was one of them. Between the cost of the car, maintenance and gas, he says, “it just became too unbearable, unmanageable and expensive.”
He hasn’t calculated exactly how much money he’s saving, but, he says, it’s “a lot of money for sure.” One important factor in his decision: White works from home now and lives close to a grocery store and other places where he needs to run errands. Biking around “is very, very reliable if you stay in a neighborhood and you work close by,” he says.
If getting an EV makes the most sense for people with the longest commutes, trading out of a car entirely is for the other end of the spectrum: people who don’t drive much or take a lot of short trips. Veo, the bike and scooter app, reports that its average trip length is 1.9 miles.
If it works for your lifestyle, White says, biking has benefits in addition to savings on gas. “I feel like a kid again when I’m riding it,” he says. “It’s very enjoyable.” And: “Oh, my goodness, I can avoid the traffic.”
Spend more on fuel by cutting more elsewhere
Finally, some folks are willing to spend more at the pump — but cut back elsewhere. High fuel prices were not enough to stop Julie and Vince Rossi from taking their first cross-country road trip in their new recreational vehicle. They sold their house to live in a 22,000-pound RV full time and went on their longest road trip yet, driving from Arizona to Virginia.
Diesel costs even more than gasoline — and its price has gone up faster since the war started — so to afford their now-doubled fuel budget, they’re skipping the museums and amusement parks for free attractions. “If we want to continue on this lifestyle, we either look for the lowest prices or we need to cut spending somewhere else,” Julie Rossi says.
A previous version of this story ran on April 7, 2026.
new video loaded: Thousands Attend Prayer Service for San Diego Mosque Attack Victims
transcript
transcript
Thousands Attend Prayer Service for San Diego Mosque Attack Victims
Thousands of people attended a funeral prayer service for the three men killed by gunmen at a mosque in San Diego on Monday.
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“Allahu akbar.” “Allahu akbar.” “Allahu akbar.” “Allahu akbar.” Today we are sending a strong message to everywhere and to everybody that our community got hurt. Our community is mourning, but our community is standing strong and firm because this is who we are.
By Jackeline Luna
May 21, 2026
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