Camilla Jessen
U.S. President’s plan will make ICE the biggest domestic security force in American history.
President Donald Trump has signed a new law that will give U.S. immigration officers a massive increase in money and power.
The goal is to make Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the largest domestic security agency in the country and carry out up to 1 million deportations every year.
According to the American Immigration Council (AIC), the law — signed on July 4 — will give ICE a total of $75 billion by 2029.
That’s more than the entire budgets of most other U.S. law enforcement agencies combined, including the FBI, Secret Service, and DEA.
Huge Expansion of ICE
The plan gives $45 billion to build new detention centers across the U.S., allowing ICE to hold over 116,000 people each day.
That’s 62% more than the total number of people held in the federal prison system.
Another $30 billion will pay for ICE operations and 10,000 new agents, adding to the current 20,000 officers already working. Homeland Security says this will let ICE reach its goal of deporting 1 million people each year.
The plan also includes $4.1 billion to hire 3,000 new Border Patrol agents and 3,000 new Customs officers.
This was reported by Digi24.
More Money Than Most Countries’ Armies
With a $75 billion budget, ICE would have more funding than the entire military budgets of most countries — except the U.S., China, Russia, India, and Saudi Arabia.
That’s according to the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).
Adding up other costs — including border walls and technology — the total immigration spending could reach $170 billion.
That includes:
- $46.6 billion for border wall construction
- $3.2 billion for new surveillance technology
- $2.7 billion for border monitoring systems
Rights Groups Are Worried
Many civil rights groups say this massive increase in immigration enforcement is dangerous. So far this year, 11 migrants have died in ICE custody — nearly the same as in all of last year.
Neera Tanden, head of the Center for American Progress, said it was “outrageous” to spend so much money on an agency that is already making people feel unsafe.
Frank Sharry from America’s Voice called the expansion “a terrifying move toward authoritarianism.” He warned it could lead to a situation where even legal immigrants and U.S. citizens are at risk of being wrongly targeted by ICE.
Wall and Tech Get Big Boost
Even though President Trump recently said he didn’t need much more money for the U.S.-Mexico border wall, the new budget includes major funding for border security. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the wall still needs more cameras and surveillance systems to be fully complete.
“We still need to finish the technology and security systems around the wall,” she said.
Some advocates say the government should be using this money to improve the immigration system — not to punish people.
Clarissa Martinez of UnidosUS said the money could go toward “modernizing the immigration system” instead of making it harsher and more aggressive.
