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Mapping Far Right and Anti-Immigrant Movement Alignment with County Sheriffs

Sheriff departments are unique organizing targets for far-right and anti-immigrant movements, such as the Patriot movement’s Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association and the Federation for American Immigration Reform. While sheriffs broadly uphold law and order policies in line with systemic White supremacy, this map illustrates the widespread alignment of these two far-right networks with county sheriffs and local policies. Along with ICE, these sheriffs have become the Trump administration’s front line for anti-immigrant policing and deportation, while consolidating alliances between far-right movements and law enforcement.

Explore Sheriff Dept. Affiliations

This map illustrates sheriff departments aligned with the Patriot/militia movement and/or the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) dating back to 2013. It also shows 2nd Amendment Sanctuary policies and local agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), two policies that often overlap with these right-wing networks.

The Patriot/militia movement’s Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), courts sheriffs who uphold patriot movement values, solidifies relationships between sheriffs and militia, and celebrate sheriff defiance of state or federal laws such as state gun laws.
Founded in 1979, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is one of the country's most influential anti-immigrant organizations. Over the last decade, the group has encouraged local sheriffs to assist ICE and enforce federal immigration laws.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was created in 2003 to take over many immigration enforcement within the Department of Homeland Security. Since then, ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations wing has tripled in size. This increased reach into local communities is multiplied by the growing number of collaboration agreements the agency enters into with local jurisdictions.
Second Amendment Sanctuary resolutions declare sheriffs have the power in their local jurisdictions to not enforce state gun laws they deem as unconstitutional.
Affiliations of former sheriffs