Yes.
The Mesa Police Department coordinates with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to check the immigration status of people booked into jail. Since 2020, the department has operated under a 287(g) agreement, which grants trained local officers the authority to perform certain federal immigration duties.
The 287(g) program is authorized under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Mesa participates through the “Jail Enforcement Model,” which enables officers to question people in custody about immigration status, issue detainers and initiate deportation paperwork.
Mesa PD is one of five Arizona agencies with jail-enforcement agreements, along with the state Department of Corrections and the sheriff’s offices in La Paz, Pinal and Yavapai counties. An agreement with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office was terminated in 2011 after a federal probe found widespread profiling of Latinos.
Nationwide, 122 law enforcement agencies had jail-enforcement agreements as of August 2025.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
Sources
- Memorandum of Agreement, Mesa Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- The 287(g) Program: An Overview, American Immigration Council
- Jail Enforcement Infographic, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- DOJ Report Slams Sherriff Joe Arpaio and DHS Restricts 287(g) and Secure Communities Programs, American Immigration Council
- Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Findings Letter, U.S. Department of Justice
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is partnering with Gigafact to produce timely fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
