TL;DR
H.R. 1's ICE provisions represent a transformative expansion that would create the most extensive immigration enforcement apparatus in U.S. history. The verified $75 billion investment over four years, available through September 30, 2029, would fundamentally alter ICE's role in American society, expanding detention capacity by 600-700%, doubling the workforce, and creating infrastructure to support one million annual deportations.
I expected it to take much longer to find and extract the ICE expansion provisions in the bill the Senate just passed, but they did not obfuscate it at all.
I went with bullets since (a) I am fairly upset right now and don't want to put more mental cycles on crafting a narrative around this horrible mess; and, (b) the bullets kind of say it all.
The bill appropriates $29.85 billion directly to ICE, available through September 30, 2029. This represents a 142.7% increase over current ICE funding levels. When combined with an additional $45 billion for detention capacity expansion, total ICE-related funding reaches $74.85 billion.
Hiring Mandates:
- Minimum 8,500 additional officers and agents across enforcement divisions
- Over 2,000 additional attorneys and support staff
- $8 billion allocated specifically for hiring new personnel
- Minimum hiring targets established for fiscal years 2025-2029
Financial Incentives:
- Signing bonuses up to $20,000 for new hires committing to five years of service
- Annual retention bonuses up to $15,000 in high-attrition field offices
- $858 million total funding for retention and signing bonus programs
- Eligibility for Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) and 10% premium overtime
Transportation and Removal Operations:
- $14.4 billion for transportation and removal operations
- Ensuring the departure of aliens through expanded removal flights and ground transportation
Technology and Facilities:
- $700 million for IT investments supporting enforcement operations
- $550 million for facility upgrades
- $250 million for fleet modernization
- $600 million for recruitment, hiring capability, and operational mobility programs
The legislation provides $45 billion for expanding detention capacity, including both single adult and family residential center beds. This funding would:
- Increase detention capacity to over 200,000 people simultaneously
- Enable approximately 2 million annual detentions based on historical ratios
- Represent a thirteen-fold increase over current detention budgets
Family Detention:
- $20 million specifically for maintaining custody of aliens charged with misdemeanor illegal entry who entered with children under 18
- Provisions for detaining families together in residential centers
Section 287(g) Agreements:
- $650 million for facilitating agreements allowing state and local law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement functions
State and Local Participation:
- $787 million for ending criminal gang presence, combating human trafficking, and supporting immigration enforcement
- Reimbursement programs for state and local participation in enforcement efforts
Immigration Court Expansion:
- $1.25 billion for hiring immigration judges, support staff, and expanding courtroom capacity
Office of Principal Legal Advisor:
- $1.32 billion for hiring additional attorneys and support staff to represent DHS in removal proceedings
Criminal Alien Compensation:
- $950 million to compensate states and localities for incarcerating criminal aliens
- Includes limitations if jurisdictions restrict cooperation with federal immigration laws
Expedited Removal:
- $75 million for applying expedited removal to certain criminal aliens
- $25 million for removing criminal aliens without further hearings
Unaccompanied Alien Children:
- $3 billion to Office of Refugee Resettlement for housing and supervising UACs
- $40 million combined for gang-related examinations by CBP and ORR
- $50 million for providing detailed sponsor information to DHS
- $100 million for repatriation processes
The bill imposes numerous new fees to partially fund enforcement operations:
Immigration Process Fees:
- $100 minimum asylum fee (reduced from House version of $1,000)
- Employment authorization document fees for asylum applicants, parolees, and TPS recipients
- $1,000 parole fee
- Various fees for immigration court proceedings, appeals, and renewals
Remittance Tax:
- 1% federal excise tax on international money transfers
- Applies to funds sent outside the U.S. via money orders, cash, or cashier's checks
Federal Benefit Restrictions:
- Prohibition of federal Medicaid and CHIP funding for individuals without verified citizenship or immigration status
- Restrictions on premium tax credits to "eligible aliens" only
- Limitations on Medicare coverage for certain individuals
Work Requirements:
- Expanded work requirements for able-bodied adults in SNAP and other programs
- Enhanced eligibility verification processes
While not directly ICE funding, the bill provides substantial support for border operations:
- $46.5 billion for CBP border barrier construction
- $12 billion for state border security reimbursement
- $5 billion for Department of Defense border support missions
According to immigration policy experts, this funding would create the level of immigration enforcement and harassment that will see Border Patrol Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and all the law enforcement they have assisting them will be unparalleled in American history.
The ICE funding would make it the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the entire federal government, with funding exceeding five times more than all other federal law enforcement combined.
Unlike typical gradual implementation, experts expect the Trump administration to utilize this funding aggressively, potentially spending most of the allocation within the first four years rather than spreading it over the full ten-year authorization period.