New ICE Budget Tops Spending By Most Of World s Militaries: Report
A spending package that was narrowly approved by Congress this week will provide Immigration and Customs Enforcement with a budget that is comparable to the largest armies in the world. Critics referred to the proposal as “immoral” and “one of the saddest days in American history,” while supporters claim the cash will expedite the expulsion of unauthorized immigrants.
2011 training of the Special Response Team for Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Fort Benning.
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On Friday, July 4, President Donald Trump signed the so-called One Big Beautiful Act, which allocates $170 billion for immigration. According to NPR, the plan includes $47 billion for border protection, including a wall between the US and Mexico, $45 billion for detention facilities, and more than $30 billion for enforcement.
Over the next four years, ICE will receive an annual budget of over $30 billion, making it one of the world’s most well-funded law enforcement organizations.
The US will spend more on immigration enforcement than Israel, the Netherlands, and Brazil do on their militaries, according to Global Firepower, a website that monitors military spending worldwide.
The proposal is a “real win” for the American people, according to ICE Director Todd Lyons.
“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,” stated on X.
Democrats were far more critical of the funding bill, and they all voted against it.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York described Thursday’s House of Representatives passage of bill 218-214 as “one of the saddest days in American history.”
The law raises the number of beds available to house immigration prisoners nationally to “at least” 116,000, according to the American Immigration Council, in addition to expanding the number of ICE agents.
According to NBC News, as of Friday, ICE has 55,000 prisoners housed in facilities throughout the United States.
According to the AIC research, the US will invest $8 billion to construct new soft-sided detention centers, which are buildings that can be swiftly created from tents and fences.
This week, Trump visited a facility in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” Up to 3,000 detainees can be housed inside the facility while they await deportation procedures.
Every person we arrest needs a bed since, depending on the circumstances, they may be detained for a few days to several months. Tom Homan, the Border Czar, stated on “Cuomo.” As a result, we will have more breathing room and additional beds to pursue more criminals around the nation.
But the plan merely gives the immigration courts, which are already mired in a backlog of cases, an additional $3.3 billion. According to the AIC, such allocation is anticipated to significantly expand the backlog of already high immigration court cases, especially for those detained in detention facilities.
Although ICE’s resources and reach are greatly increased by the new budget, experts doubt that the agency will be able to swiftly put its newfound authority into practice.
According to Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy expert at the Migration Policy Institute, it would undoubtedly boost immigration enforcement over time, but it won’t happen right now, she told NPR. There is a legitimate concern about how soon the Trump administration will be able to use this funding to support their mass deportation drive.
