Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed an agreement last week with ICE, enabling local law enforcement in select counties to work alongside federal agents in tracking and detaining illegal immigrants.
Limited members of the Wyoming Highway Patrol in five counties - all of which encompass major interstates - will be able to assist ICE with enforcement during the execution of their day-to-day work and at the direction of and under the oversight of the federal law enforcement agency, according to a statement from Gordon's office.
The agreement marks only the second such pact made directly between a state and ICE.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was the first to sign a similar "memorandum of agreement," while several individual counties around the country have also approved methods of cooperation with ICE.
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"Wyoming has been firm in our commitment to helping secure the border, and this is another step in that process," Gordon said in a statement.
"Our nation's security depends upon effective immigration enforcement, and I am proud that our Wyoming Highway Patrol continues to support this effort and is now formalizing their commitment to this work through our agreement with ICE."
Wyoming Highway Patrol, under ICE oversight, will be able to take action and develop evidence against people who violate federal immigration law. A January executive order from President Donald Trump allows Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to forge such agreements with state and local authorities.
Wyoming Highway Patrol Administrator Col. Tim Cameron cited Wyoming's unique position of hosting several cross-country highways.
"Our troopers are uniquely positioned to support immigration enforcement through our daily operations along Wyoming's interstates - key corridors for cross-country travel that are sometimes exploited for unlawful activity," Cameron said in a statement.
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The nation's longest interstate, the Boston-Seattle I-90, runs 200 miles through the upper corner of the state, New Jersey-San Francisco I-80 runs 400 miles across the bottom of Wyoming, and I-25 notably runs from near the southern border in New Mexico to I-90 in Buffalo.
The select troopers will hail from Laramie County, which includes the capital, Cheyenne; Carbon County, which includes Rawlins; and Sweetwater County, which includes Rock Springs, Green River and a very long remote stretch of I-80.
Select patrol officers in Campbell and Natrona counties will also be participating, as I-25 bisects both along the Nebraska border and into the city of Casper.
"[This] agreement enhances our ability to identify individuals in violation of federal immigration law and take appropriate action under ICE's direction," Cameron added.
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"This partnership strengthens public safety, expands our access to federal resources and intelligence, and reinforces the strong working relationships we maintain with local law enforcement."
Wyoming taxpayers will not be fronting any additional costs for the partnership, as officers will receive free training from the feds.
Robert Guadian, a top official at ICE's Denver Field office, praised Gordon for the agreement, calling it a "force multiplier" in immigration enforcement operations.
Wyoming had previously independently dispatched troopers to assist the Texas Department of Public Safety at the southern border during the heat of the Biden administration's open border crisis.
