According to data, the Arkansas National Guard has requested permission from the federal government to make immigration arrests.
The Arkansas National Guard requested for power under the 287(g) program’s so-called task force model, according to ICE’s website. Guard members who finish the required training will be permitted to carry out specific immigration enforcement tasks if the application is accepted.
According to ICE, the 287(g) Task Force Model acts as a force multiplier by enabling state and local law enforcement organizations to exercise limited immigration power while performing their regular police enforcement responsibilities.
As of August 14, the Arkansas National Guard’s application was listed as pending on the ICE website. The application’s submission and approval dates were not specified.
A request for response from an Arkansas National Guard official was not answered.
The Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act was enacted by the Arkansas Legislature a few months prior to the application.Act 426 of 2025 forbids the establishment of so-called sanctuary cities in the state and compels the Arkansas State Police, Department of Correction, and county sheriffs departments to apply for permission to serve immigration warrants using the warrant service officer model.
The act did not expressly mention the Arkansas National Guard. Generally speaking, National Guard members don’t work in law enforcement.
However, by requesting task force model power, the Arkansas National Guard joined ASP and a number of other sheriff’s agencies in going above and beyond what was mandated by the law.
More than 1,500 people were arrested by immigration authorities in Arkansas in 2025, according to data that DeportationData.org collected through federal Freedom of Information Act petitions.
ICE provides local law enforcement agencies with limited immigration enforcement capabilities through three 287(g) programs, including the task force model. In the first, trained law enforcement organizations can serve immigration warrants to people who are currently incarcerated in local jails using the warrant service officer paradigm. When someone is brought into the jail, local law enforcement can use the jail enforcement model to identify and deal with them if they feel they are in the country illegally.
One of the two models was used this year to grant authority to eleven jurisdictions in Arkansas.
However, the task force model, which was first put on hold during the administration of former President Barack Obama, gives local law enforcement authority to execute immigration laws outside of jails. Local law enforcement normally cannot stop, question, and arrest individuals based only on suspicion of immigration infractions; only ICE-approved agencies are permitted to do so.
Following his reelection in January, President Donald Trump’s administration brought the task force concept back to life.
The task force approach has a history of racial profiling and harm, according to the American Immigration Council, a non-profit organization that supports immigrants with headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Do you want to advertise an event or a news tip? White River Now can be reached by email at [email protected]. Make sure to follow and like us on Twitter and Facebook. Additionally, remember to download the White River Now app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Every weekday morning and afternoon, the First Community Bank Newsroom on Arkansas 103.3 KWOZ provides the most recent local and regional news and weather information. On weekday mornings, White River Now updates are also broadcast on
Outlaw 106.5, Your FM 99.5, and 93 KZLE. Watch CBS News on 1340 KBTA at the top of each hour.
