1-800-CRUELTY: ICE’s 287(g) Call Center

ICE has developed a new tool to carry out their enforcement agenda – a 24/7 call center based in Nashville, TN. A privately-run team of phone operators will remotely provide local law enforcement with “real-time operational support” to conduct federal immigration enforcement. ICE calls it the Public Safety Coordination Center. We call it an attack on democracy, children, and communities.

Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act outlines a program that gives federal immigration enforcement responsibilities to local law enforcement. In other words, local law enforcement agencies that have 287(g) agreements work as deputized ICE agents. Fueled by the unprecedented federal funding directed to ICE, the government is incentivizing local law enforcement to take part in their mass deportation agenda. In one case, the Venice, CA Police Department requested nearly $900,000 for one single detention in September 2025.

Since the beginning of the second Trump administration, there has been a 1,564% increase (PDF) in active 287(g) agreements with ICE, jumping from 135 agreements to 2,246. This call center will field calls stemming from all of these agreements. According to information included in ICE’s first outreach (PDF) to companies considering bidding to run the center (Request for Information, RFI), ICE is expecting this call center to field anywhere from 6,000 to 7,000 calls a day.

Reverse 911: What Will the Call Center Do?

In early August 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded a $63 million contract to Koniag Services, INC. – an Alaskan native consulting group. To date, the company has received $17 million from that contract.

According to the RFI, ICE is asking for more than just customer service agents to staff the call center. In addition to managing a 24/7 support line, Koniag Services will be responsible for hiring people to reshape enforcement under 287(g) agreements. The RFI posting details a full page of sub-functions, including:

• Developing strategies to detain and remove immigrants with pending cases from their communities (“reduce the non-detained docket”) – including providing materials and training 287(g) partners and Field Offices.
• Share tracking information on children who arrived alone in the United States and are now targeted for deportation with 287(g) partners.
• Managing 287(g) agreements, including processing new agreements, auditing existing agreements, agreement modifications, and agreement terminations.
• Identifying emerging technologies that would increase the efficacy of the 287(g) program

When private companies take on this level of enforcement-related authority, all our communities are at risk. Children will be separated from their loved ones, and families will be traumatized by an armed police officer on their front doorstep. If a call center employee gives bad advice, this could also happen to people who are not being targeted – we are all at the mercy of call center operators.

Features of a Growing Immigration Police State:

Development of this call center is not an innocuous move by the federal government to “streamline” their work. The creation of this call center marks a major development in ICE’s expansion of a national police force dedicated to targeting immigrants, including young children. While the center hasn’t opened yet, we are already seeing how this call center will fit into ICE’s larger vision of a massive, super-charged immigration police force, including:

• Private Prison Buses: DHS awarded a $382 million contract to GardaWorld Federal Services to operate a private transportation system across Texas, to keep up with a ramp up in arrests. Under the contract’s Performance Work Statement, armed GardaWorld employees will drive people arrested by law enforcement with 287(g) agreements to ICE facilities in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. DHS has signaled that they are open to expanding the program beyond Texas. The Nashville call center will serve as the main coordination center for all transportation operations.
• Bounty Hunting Children: While several states and localities have taken steps to ban 287(g) agreements, the responsibilities related to the targeting of unaccompanied children are universally concerning. This aspect of the call center’s work is part of a broader, multi-faceted effort to hunt down vulnerable children and target them for detention and deportation. This call center would integrate reporting and tracking of unaccompanied children and their loved ones with 287(g) participants, boosting ICE’s ability to go after kids.
• 1984 Meets 287(g): ICE already uses a wide range of surveillance tools. The call center is responsible for “technology innovation” to boost the efficacy of 287(g) agreements. While “emerging technologies” remains vague, ICE has signaled an interest in using AI-powered surveillance tools to arrest and detain people.

The Bottom Line:

Decades of research show that communities are safer and stronger when everyone feels empowered to report crimes, access services, and live without fear of immigration enforcement. In cities and towns with 287(g) agreements and those that cooperate with ICE in other ways, the data shows that victims are less willing to come forward because they are afraid that they will be turned over to ICE. Research has also demonstrated the dangers of 287(g) agreements and how they can increase racial profiling and other constitutional violations during routine local law enforcement. This call center would put more communities in the crosshairs of ICE and local law enforcement entanglement.

What Local Leaders Can Do to Push Back:

Nashville was blindsided by ICE’s plans for the call center. There was immediate pushback on the call center from the Nashville Metro Council and community members alike. Federal overreach like this is happening across the country, and demands an urgent response from local officials and community leaders. Here are examples of what leaders can do:

• Oppose 287(g) agreements in your state and community: Recently, Maine, Maryland and New Mexico have banned 287(g) agreements in their states, joining six other states that have existing 287(g) bans on the books. In states where bans may not be politically possible, local governments can use their levers of authority to ban or limit 287(g) agreements. For example, the Mayor of New Orleans issued an executive order in February 2026 to prohibit participation in the program by city officials.
• Use local levers of authority to resist federal overreach: Beyond 287(g) agreements, local governments can use their regulatory, procurement and legislative power to protect their communities from violent federal immigration enforcement. Local Progress and Indivisible’s No Secret Police toolkit (PDF) offers some helpful policies, including in hostile or preempted states.
• Explore localized opposition ideas within your community: Communities can say no to requests from ICE to use public- or government-owned resources for hiring fairs and other job advertisements. Councils can also educate their residents and unions about what working for this call center actually means.