The massive tax and spending bill passed by the House on Thursday includes huge infusion of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, tripling its annual budget for an agency that is under fire by Democrats.
The ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ which passed on Thursday, provides a major cash infusion estimated to be around $150 billion for increased immigration enforcement.
‘ICE gets $45 billion more to supercharge their kidnapping and disappearing of people of all legal statuses,’ progressive Rep. Pramilla Jayapal, D-Wash., warned on Thursday after the bill passed.
The additional ICE funding represents a nearly threefold increase in the agency’s 2024 budget of around $10 billion, though additional funds were also provided to other border security efforts, like completing a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries noted on Thursday that ‘a deportation machine will be unleashed on steroids’ under the new legislation.
The extra funding for ICE will help grow its migrant detention centers, boost its deportation efforts, and hire an estimated 10,000 additional agents.
‘With this vote, Congress makes ICE the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency in history, with more money per year at its disposal over the next four years than the budgets of the FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals, and Bureau of Prisons combined,’ Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the left-leaning American Immigration Council posted on X.
Republicans, however, were jubilant about the increased border security funding.
President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides around $150 billion for border security measures
The bill provides huge funding for ICE and triples its annual budget from its 2024 levels
The administration has said additional ICE and CBP funding is needed to carry out deportations
‘I speak on behalf of the entire agency when I say that ICE is grateful to President Trump for putting in the hard work necessary to get the Big Beautiful Bill across the finish line — but the real win is for the American people,’ acting ICE Director Todd Lyons wrote in response to the bill’s passage.
‘The unprecedented funding for ICE will enable my hard-working officers and agents to continue making America safe again by identifying, arresting, and removing criminal aliens from our communities.’
Though not all of the funds are going directly to ICE, a significant portion will support ICE-related projects, particularly migrant detention and removal operations.
Under the new legislation, $45 billion is earmarked to expand migrant detention capacity to more than 100,000 beds.
Approximately $52 billion is allocated for the construction and maintenance of the border wall and related Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities.
The bill also authorizes $10 billion in grant funding to reimburse states for border security expenses incurred during the Biden administration.
Up to $6.2 billion is approved for enhanced border surveillance technology and vetting systems.
Additionally, the bill includes $4.1 billion to hire more Border Patrol agents and $2 billion for retention and signing bonuses.
Immigrants wait to be processed at a US Border Patrol transit center after they crossed the border from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas on December 20, 2023
Migrants wait along the U.S.-Mexico border to surrender to American authorities in 2024
The increased funding will help authorities process and deport the estimated 10 million migrants who entered the U.S. illegally under the Biden administration.
‘The Big Beautiful Bill has officially passed! Here’s what it means for CBP and the American people: 701 miles of new, modern border wall, 3,000 new Border Patrol agents to defend our borders, 5,000 new Customs officers to secure our ports of entry,’ CBP posted on X.
‘Massive upgrades to technology, infrastructure, and enforcement power. This is historic. Border security is national security—and under President Trump, we’re getting the job done.’
