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To request state police records about an ICE agreement, use the records-request channel published by the state police agency and ask for specific existing records over a defined date range. Start with the signed Section 287(g) memorandum of agreement (MOA) and appendices, then include related amendments, communications, implementation materials, and financial records if relevant. The procedure, deadlines, fees, and exemptions depend on the state and agency.
What records should you request?
ICE describes Section 287(g) as a program through which participating state and local law-enforcement agencies perform specified immigration functions under ICE direction and supervision. An MOA is the core document describing an agency’s participation. Requesting the agreement alone may not show how it was adopted, changed, or carried out.
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Consider asking for these categories, limited to the agency and dates relevant to your request:
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- Amendments, renewals, suspension notices, termination letters, or records documenting withdrawal.
- Communications between state police and ICE about adopting, operating, changing, suspending, or ending the agreement.
- Communications with the governor’s office, attorney general, legislature, or other named state agencies about the agreement.
- Policies, directives, guidance, or training materials provided to participating officers about implementation.
- Existing records describing implementation or activity under the agreement, if the agency maintains them.
- Budgets, cost estimates, reimbursement requests, stipends, or other records of money exchanged in connection with the agreement.
These are possible categories, not a claim that the agency holds every record or must create one. ICE’s 287(g) program information explains the program and its MOA process.
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How to submit a focused request
- Identify the agency. Name the state police agency precisely. If you are unsure where a record is held, you may need separate requests to state police and ICE; records held by one are not necessarily held by the other.
- Set a date range. Give clear start and end dates. Narrow the period and identify offices or recipients when possible to make a search more manageable.
- Use useful search terms. Include terms such as “287(g),” “ICE,” “Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” and “memorandum of agreement” or “MOA.”
- Ask for existing records. Request documents and communications rather than asking the agency to answer questions, explain policy, compile an analysis, or create a new record. Delaware’s 2026 Attorney General opinion records a state police position that its public-records law did not require it to answer questions or create records; the applicable rule should be checked under your state’s law.
- Use the official request channel. Follow the agency’s posted instructions and request electronic copies if available. For example, Michigan State Police lists an online portal, email, fax, and postal mail. Illinois State Police FOIA guidance provides an online request link, email, and mailing address and advises requesters to describe records specifically.
Request template
Adapt this language to the state law and agency involved:
Under [state public-records law], I request electronic copies of records held by [state police agency] from [start date] through [end date] concerning its agreement or proposed agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Section 287(g). Please include the signed memorandum of agreement and appendices; amendments, renewals, suspension or termination records; communications with ICE and [named state offices] about the agreement; policies or training materials concerning its implementation; and existing records of related costs, reimbursements, or stipends. If any part is withheld, please identify the specific legal basis and release reasonably segregable non-exempt portions. Please let me know before incurring fees above [amount]. Electronic production is preferred. This request seeks existing records and does not ask the agency to create a record or answer questions.
Replace each bracketed item. Narrow the categories, dates, or recipient list if the request is likely to sweep in a large volume of records. Illinois State Police cautions that broad “any and all records” wording may delay a request or contribute to denial as overly burdensome; it advises requesters to be specific.
What deadlines, fees, and responses should you expect?
Do not assume one state’s response time or fee rules apply elsewhere. As examples, Michigan State Police says it may extend its response time by ten business days with written notice. Illinois State Police states a five-business-day general response period and a possible five-business-day extension. These are the agencies’ published procedures; check the current instructions and statute for the state police agency you are contacting.
An agency may acknowledge the request, ask for clarification, provide a fee estimate, release some records, redact portions, or deny access. If a response is late, ask in writing for the status and expected response date. If records are withheld or redacted, request the specific statutory exemption and release of any reasonably segregable non-exempt portions. Follow the state’s appeal or administrative-review process if you dispute the decision. Michigan State Police describes a written appeal to the department head for fee and disclosure decisions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How do ICE-related records and exemptions affect access?
The fact that a record concerns ICE does not, by itself, establish whether a state agency must disclose it. The New Hampshire State Police’s revised 2025 MOA includes coordination language about some information obtained or developed under the agreement, while also stating: “Nothing herein limits LEA’s compliance with state public records laws regarding those records that are solely state records and not ICE records.” That clause is specific to that agreement; it is not a universal rule for every state or MOA.
A Delaware Attorney General opinion dated June 26, 2025, involving a town police department’s 287(g) communications, concluded that an ICE objection and an email signature marked “for official use only” did not alone provide a sufficient statutory basis to withhold records. The opinion also found the town had not made the factual showing required for its asserted safety exemption. Those conclusions concern that record and Delaware law, not every state’s exemptions or every federal-control question.
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By contrast, a Delaware Attorney General opinion dated August 24, 2026, upheld denial of records concerning an individual’s immigration history when they were part of a criminal law-enforcement investigation file. A request for general agreement administration records is different from a request for personally identifiable information in an investigative file, which may trigger law-enforcement exemptions.
What the New Hampshire example does—and does not—show
In a case summary dated August 25, 2026, the ACLU of New Hampshire said it had filed a lawsuit alleging that New Hampshire State Police failed to respond on time to its request about the agency’s 287(g) agreement. The ACLU summary describes the agreement as beginning in late April 2025 and says the request concerned implementation, enforcement, and possible compensation. These are the organization’s case-summary statements and allegations, not a court finding. They illustrate why a request may seek more than the signed MOA; they do not establish the status of the litigation or the outcome.
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