During the next four years, President Trump’s mass deportation agenda—which includes funding for detention centers, an extension of the United States’ southern border wall, and thousands of additional law enforcement personnel—would receive about $150 billion from his spending cuts and border security package.
The principal federal agency responsible for enforcing immigration laws, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, receives around $10 billion in funding each year. Legal immigration to the United States might become more expensive and law enforcement and jail capacity could be increased if the Republican president’s massive plan is passed by Congress.
While the House takes a more centrist stance on these matters, the Senate is now considering a bill that is quite similar to it. To get over Democrats’ resistance and approve Trump’s immigration crackdown quickly, Republicans have been focusing on violent protests in recent days.
That’s what transpired in early June when demonstrations caused disturbance in certain areas of Los Angeles.
“The lawlessness happening in LA is ANOTHER reason why we need to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill IMMEDIATELY,” House Speaker Mike Johnson Tweeted on X. “The security of our nation’s borders can only be ensured with the funds that are provided by it.”
However, many aspects of the law are still not crystal clear.
A researcher with the Washington-based human rights advocacy group WOLA, Adam Isacson, commented, “One thing about this bill, these sections are super vague.” This includes multibillion-dollar expenditures that are often addressed in just a few nebulous paragraphs. “How exactly is it going to be spent?” the measure asks.
The House has passed a 1,000-page measure that might change the U.S. government’s stance on immigration; here are a few important sections:
STUDY: The brickwork
According to the plan, $46.5 billion would be allocated for a system that the House Homeland Security Committee refers to as a “integrated border barrier system.” This system will consist of several components, such as water barriers, roadways for law enforcement access, and technology like movement sensors. Based on the committee’s calculations, the principal walls along the U.S.-Mexico border would be 701 miles (1,128 kilometers) long, and the river barriers would be 900 miles (1,448 kilometers) long. It is the most expensive part of the bill.
Republican Representative Mark Green of Tennessee declared, “Any lawmaker who claims to care about border security will need to put their money where their mouth is and work to advance these recommendations” as the voice of the committee.
WHAT HAPPENS: The wall’s effects beyond political symbolism remain unknown, despite the fact that it has been one of Trump’s hallmark pledges for quite some time. Since Trump became office in January, a series of immigration restrictions, including the suspension of the asylum system, have led to a precipitous decline in the number of people crossing the border illegally. Tens of thousands of individuals who would have cooperated with authorities rather than risking capture did not even try to cross the border since the asylum was abruptly ended.
Even in densely populated areas, the usefulness of border walls is still a passionately discussed topic. Human traffickers involved in drug cartels have been known to utilize power tools, ladders, and tunnels to get over barriers.
Although unlawful crossings are now at a low, experts warn that this might change very quickly.
Detention centers and their employees
WHAT THE BILL SAYS: Stephen Miller, a senior White House aide and an outspoken advocate for immigration reform, has dubbed the bill “the most essential piece of legislation currently under consideration in the entire Western World.” It allocates $45 billion to increase the capacity of detention centers for both adults and families.
Adult correctional facility standards would be determined by “the sole discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security,” as stated in the law.
There was a proposal for almost $12 billion to hire 18,000 more ICE and Border Patrol agents.
AROUND 41,000 individuals are now being held by ICE; however, the agency has stated its intention to raise this number to 100,000. The idea of a deportation system that operates “like Amazon, trying to get your product delivered in 24 hours” is something that Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, has proposed.
The number of deportation agents at ICE has been relatively constant at around 6,000 for quite some time.
The plan asks for tens of billions of dollars, which might not be enough to fulfill Trump’s objectives, but it would make it simpler for the government to accelerate deportations by adding staff and detention centers. According to Miller, ICE ought to be apprehending three thousand illegal immigrants daily. This is a significant rise compared to the around 650 people detained daily during the initial half of Trump’s second term in office.
However, the proposals are great news for the private prison business in the United States. Since Trump’s victory, the stock prices of CoreCivic and Geo Group Inc., the two main players in the industry, have increased by more than 50%.
INVESTIGATED: Immigration tribunals
WHAT THE BILL SAYS: The immigration court system will get $1.25 billion to increase the number of judges and support personnel, build new courtrooms, and pay other necessary infrastructure improvements. At present, the courts’ yearly budget is at $850 million.
The 700-judge immigration court system has been understaffed for years, leading to a backlog of over 3.6 million cases. This has had a significant impact on the system’s ability to handle cases. The average decision-making time for a judge is almost five years.
Immigrants frequently do not have access to legal representation, and the system is fraught with delays caused by overburdened courts and a lack of translators.
As officials stand by to hold immigrants attending regular hearings, the situation has been even more chaotic in recent weeks, with an increase in arrests outside of courtrooms. Asylum seekers, who are used to being free while their claims go through the system, are particularly affected by the confusion and terror caused by the arrests.
“A significant increase, and from an institutional perspective it’s urgently needed money,” stated Greg Chen, director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, in reference to the proposed financing.
Meanwhile, he thinks the government is trying to find methods to avoid immigration courts, which is why the number of arrests at courthouses is on the rise.
Immigration fees PROJECT
WHAT THE law SAYS: The law proposes a complete revamp of the immigration cost system, including steep hikes and the imposition of new fees for services that were previously free.
Asylum seekers would now have to pay $1,000 to apply for asylum, on top of the $550 they already paid to apply for jobs. The application price for temporary protected status, which permits citizens of specific countries to remain in the United States temporarily in the event of civil disturbance or natural catastrophes, has increased from $50 to$500, while the charge for appealing a judgment made by an immigration court has jumped from $110 to $900.
THE IMPACT: The increased levies will cause some trouble for immigrants with more disposable income. However, most people may reconsider their intentions if they were given even a few hundred bucks.