ICE faces $2b budget shortfall, Trump's deportation plans at risk
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reports a $2 billion shortfall in the 2025 budget. This could disrupt the Trump administration's plans and hinder mass deportations.
What do you need to know?
- ICE has reported to Congress a $2 billion shortfall in the 2025 budget.
- Congress plans to allocate an additional $500 million, which still won't cover all of ICE's needs.
- President Donald Trump's mass deportation plans could further increase the agency's expenses.
ICE informed Congress of the $2 billion shortfall in the current year's budget, as reported by Axios, citing sources in the administration. ICE's financial issues are not new, but President Trump's current plans for mass deportations could strain the agency's budget even further.
Congress reacts
Congress intends to allocate an additional $500 million to ICE through a temporary spending bill adopted by the House of Representatives. However, as noted by Axios, this amount will not suffice to cover all costs associated with the planned activities. The increased expenditures are due to the need for hiring new employees, expanding detention space, and conducting more frequent deportation flights.
From 2014 to 2023, ICE regularly exceeded its budget, forcing the agency to rely on funds from other sources. Tom Homan, responsible for deportations in the White House, has been informing the media for weeks about the need to increase funding for immigration agencies.
Setareh Ghandehari from the Detention Watch Network, an organisation opposed to migrant detention said that whenever ICE faces budget negotiations, it tends to overspend to justify increased allocations.
