President-elect Donald Trump could face major funding obstacles with his “day one” plan to carry out mass deportations – a process that could cost an estimated $88 billion – given the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is already facing budget shortfalls.
ICE, the federal agency tasked with handling border crime and enforcing immigration laws, reportedly has a $230 million budget shortfall, two U.S. officials familiar with the figure told NBC News.
That budget shortfall is part of the agency’s history of being underfunded while being increasingly utilized. ICE requested $8.7 billion from the government for their 2024 fiscal year but was allocated $8.3 billion.
“We are running hot,” the two officials told NBC News.
That $230 million shortfall has apparently been a problem for the agency while removing approximately 64,500 undocumented immigrants this year, so far. And that’s before Trump implements his new plan to deport an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.
To carry out a mass deportation of its kind, the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit that advocates for fairer immigration policies, estimates it would cost $88 billion – about $80 billion more than what ICE is allocated now.
Trump has insisted there is “no price tag” on carrying out the deportations and insisted it must be done.
Mass deportations were a centerpiece of Trump’s presidential campaign. He jumped from rally to rally, unsubstantiatedly claiming migrants who crossed the border were responsible for sprawling violent crime.
One way the incoming Trump administration could get around some of the funding problem is by utilizing other federal agencies or local and state law enforcement agencies to assist in apprehending and detaining undocumented immigrants.
Trump has also suggested utilizing the U.S. military to help carry out the operation – as much as it can be used.
Those strategies would help with staffing shortages, which are also bound to be a problem.
It will ultimately be up to Congress to allocate enough funding and resources to ICE to assist in Trump’s plan. The president-elect will be taking office next month with a Republican-dominated Senate and House, giving him the upper hand in passing legislation.
Undoubtedly, the president-elect and his administration will attempt to carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history,” but it will come with massive challenges.
