Under President Donald Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has seen rapid growth in its budget (which has nearly tripled), personnel, and surveillance technology. New data reveal that the agency has also rapidly amassed an arsenal of small arms.
Federal Procurement Data System records show that ICE has spent over $71.5 million from January 20 through October 18 on "small arms, ordnance, and ordnance accessories manufacturing"—a 636 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to an analysis by Popular Information. One bulk purchase alone on September 29 for over $9 million worth of semi-automatic and automatic rifles nearly matched ICE's entire small arms spending from January to October 2024. This single purchase also topped ICE's average annual small arms spending ($8.4 million) during Trump's first term.
