The federal government’s dramatic expansion of immigration-focused cooperative policing agreements with state and local authorities (about 1,500 agreements across 40 states) comes against the backdrop of the historic unpopularity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Worse, recent reporting indicates that American citizens are increasingly facing federal assault charges in cities with large immigration crackdowns despite video evidence that regularly contradicts the claims of federal agents.

It’s time for states to step back and reconsider their cooperation with the feds in this arena and all others when it comes to policing.

The state-federal collaboration campaign undermines some of federalism’s most basic aspects and reduces state control over state police officers.

Yielding police powers to feds is a slippery slope

This comes as many right-leaning state legislatures are now considering requirements that their police departments partner with federal agencies – for instance, through so-called 287(g) or task force agreements – to coordinate law enforcement operations.

The killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis, along with other instances of questionable federal behavior (defying court orders, warrantless searches, etc.), should give states pause before signing a substantial piece of........

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