Sen. Lindsey Graham used an August 11, 2025 stop in Greenville County to promote a new federal incentive plan that would “reward” South Carolina law enforcement agencies that work most closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), especially through the 287(g) program. He praised local departments and said he wants to tie federal dollars and public recognition to measurable immigration enforcement outputs, positioning rewards as a counterweight to jurisdictions that refuse cooperation, according to WHNS/FOX Carolina coverage of the event.
Graham’s push comes as the Trump administration and ICE move fast to expand 287(g) agreements across the state in 2025, and as South Carolina lawmakers consider a measure to require every county and city agency to join at least one 287(g) model. Together, those steps could produce near‑universal alignment between local policing and federal immigration enforcement, while raising questions about cost, training, and civil rights.
Policy outline and current status
Graham did not release bill text in Greenville, but he described the concept in clear terms: targeted federal support for agencies “that help the most,” likely tied to 287(g) participation and to outputs such as arrests, detainers, and transfers to ICE custody.
In practical terms, a reward system of this kind would usually need:
– Authorizing legislation or
– Explicit appropriations language to set grant criteria or bonus funding linked to performance metrics.
His remarks track with ICE’s 2025 build‑out of local partnerships and with a pipeline of pending agreements.
ICE’s official 287(g) program page lists active and “pending” partners and confirmed new agreements were being processed as of late July through August 11, 2025; it showed 22 pending applications on that date, including 8 Warrant Service Officer (WSO) requests and 14 for other models. The same page provides program contacts and the current roster of Memoranda of Agreement. Readers can review the program overview and partner list at ICE’s site: https://www.ice.gov/287g
As of mid‑August 2025, there is no final federal program, statute, or DHS grant notice labeled as Graham’s reward initiative. Agencies and advocates point instead to the ongoing expansion of 287(g) agreements and to pending applications as the operative mechanisms now in motion. That status was also noted in local media reports of Graham’s Greenville stop.
State push and rapid 287(g) expansion
At the state level, the South Carolina General Assembly introduced Joint Resolution H.3030 on January 14, 2025. Key elements of the proposal:
– Require all county and municipal law enforcement agencies to join at least one 287(g) model.
– Require cooperation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office on RICO‑based asset seizures in smuggling cases.
– If enacted and signed by the governor, the resolution would take effect immediately, according to the bill page. As of mid‑August, the page shows no final enactment update.
Civil liberties monitors, including the ACLU, say the number of 287(g) agreements in South Carolina has “quintupled” in 2025, with new Task Force Model MOAs at county and even small municipal levels.
Notable entries and dates:
– South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) entered a Task Force Model agreement on March 7, 2025.
– Small departments such as Coward, Duncan, and Holly Hill also joined under task force MOAs, the ACLU reports.
That surge aligns with ICE’s public listings and the pending queue.
Impact on agencies and communities
Graham frames rewards as support for local partners who “help the most.” Supporters argue that close cooperation:
– Helps remove noncitizens with criminal charges, and
– Deters smuggling.
Critics warn the approach:
– Shifts local policing toward federal priorities, and
– Risks unequal treatment and civil‑liberties harms.
The practical effects will depend on the 287(g) model an agency adopts and how output targets are built into any future grant rules.
For local agencies
- Potential eligibility for federal funding or recognition linked to:
- 287(g) cooperation,
- training throughput,
- number of officers certified,
- detainers served, and
- transfers to ICE.
- Added workload for field training, reporting, and supervision under Task Force Model (TFM) or Jail Enforcement Model (JEM) authorities.
- Possible liability exposure tied to immigration arrests and detainers.
- If H.3030 becomes law, agencies may lose local discretion over whether to join and face added coordination with federal prosecutors on RICO‑based seizures.
For immigrant communities
- Under the Task Force Model, certified patrol officers can make immigration arrests during routine policing (including traffic stops). Civil liberties groups warn this can:
- Raise due process concerns,
- Fuel racial profiling, and
- Strain family life.
- Under the Jail Enforcement Model, corrections officers screen people already in local custody, which can lead to detainers and transfers to ICE.
- The WSO model allows local officers to serve and execute ICE administrative warrants in jails, broadening the pipeline to federal custody.
Graham’s 2025 stance reflects a broader national shift after President Trump returned to the White House. According to the IDEASPACE profile, Graham is now calling on Congress to equip border and interior agencies for mass deportations, a sharper position than his earlier openness to pairing border security with some form of legalization. His reward framework dovetails with the ongoing expansion of 287(g) and with the Warrant Service Officer program.
ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division continues to manage the 287(g) program, train local officers, and track partners via MOAs. State leaders behind H.3030 want to move cooperation from choice to requirement, including coordination on asset seizures in smuggling cases. The ACLU and allied groups describe the 2025 surge in South Carolina as harmful to public safety and local budgets, citing the entry of SLED and small police departments as warning signs. VisaVerge.com is among specialized outlets that closely follow how federal‑local enforcement programs affect daily life for mixed‑status families.
What to watch next
Several developments bear close watching in the weeks ahead:
1. Whether Graham introduces a bill or secures appropriations report language to stand up a reward program that ties grants or bonus funds to 287(g) outputs.
2. The fate of H.3030 in the 2025–2026 session, including any gubernatorial action; if it passes, agencies will need compliance timelines and guidance.
3. ICE updates to its 287(g) rosters and pending list, especially any South Carolina agencies that move from “pending” to active MOAs.
Local chiefs now await details from Sen. Graham.
This Article in a Nutshell
On August 11, 2025, Sen. Lindsey Graham proposed federally rewarding agencies that cooperate with ICE via 287(g). South Carolina’s rapid 2025 expansion, pending ICE applications, and Joint Resolution H.3030 raise civil‑liberties, cost, and training concerns for local communities and agencies.
