How Trump’s bill will supercharge mass deportations by funneling $170bn to Ice
Lauren GambinoCritics warn the staggering sum dedicated to the agency in the bill will threaten humanitarian protections and disrupt the economy
Wed 2 Jul 2025 12.24 EDT
Thousands of new immigration enforcement officers. Tens of thousands of new detention beds. New fees on asylum applications. And new construction on the border wall.
Donald Trump’s sweeping spending bill would vastly expand the federal government’s immigration enforcement machinery and, if passed by the House, supercharge the president’s plan to carry out what he has vowed will be the largest deportation campaign in US history.
The measure would authorize a level of immigration enforcement spending that analysts and advocates say is without precedent. Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” dedicates roughly $170bn for immigration and border-related operations – a staggering sum that would make US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) the most heavily funded law enforcement agency in the federal government, and that critics warn will unleash more raids, disrupt the economy and severely restrict access to humanitarian protections like asylum.

How Trump’s bill will supercharge mass deportations by funneling $170bn to Ice
Critics warn the staggering sum dedicated to the agency in the bill will threaten humanitarian protections and disrupt the economy