US immigration enforcement is on a new path following Congress’s approval of a record $150 billion budget for President Donald Trump’s deportation and border security proposals. The legislation, which Trump intends to sign by Friday, constitutes the broadest crackdown in decades.
It renews the border wall initiative, increases federal detention, employs thousands of new agents, and charges migrants high fees to seek legal protection.
Homeland Security Receives Most of the New Money
The majority of the new money will be awarded to the Department of Homeland Security and its enforcement branches—Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The budget increase will enable these organizations to build detention facilities, increase surveillance, and step up deportations.
The bill also increases the fee for asylum application, work permits, and humanitarian protection, putting an additional financial burden on migrants seeking legal routes.
Border Wall Construction Speeds Up
Trump previously stalled border wall effort now receives a new $46.5 billion boost. The administration has already granted $70 million for new barriers in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley. Another $309 million will go toward a 27-mile section in Arizona’s Tucson sector, where border crossings have decreased.
Despite arrests reaching all-time lows, the administration still wants to strengthen the border further.
Detention Capacity Surges
ICE will get $45 billion to increase detention capacity. Through late June, ICE had over 59,000 individuals in custody, well above its funded capacity of 42,000 beds. A new complex in the Florida Everglades, which has come to be known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” has already opened to accommodate the overflow.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem informed lawmakers the administration wants to increase immigration jail beds across the country by a factor of two. Oversight, however, is becoming weaker. DHS has already closed its internal watchdog office, and lawmakers are now contemplating eliminating its funding altogether.
ICE and Border Patrol to Hire Thousands
ICE will get a $30 billion increase—three times its yearly budget. The agency will add 10,000 new officers and provide $10,000 annual bonuses. Border Patrol and CBP will receive $6.1 billion for 8,000 new agents. But agencies continue to struggle with recruitment because of background checks and training.
State Reimbursements and Fee Hikes
The US bill also provides $13.5 billion to states that have already spent on border security since 2021. Texas anticipates $11 billion in reimbursement for migrant transport, fences, and policing.
Republicans are paying for the crackdown by levying stiff new fees. Asylum petitions will now be $100. Temporary Protected Status will be $500. Humanitarian parole might be as high as $1,000. Waivers for poor applicants will largely be eliminated.
With the bill’s passage, immigration agenda of Trump now has unprecedented firepower. But critics warn the crackdown risks punishing legal migrants, overburdening border communities, and eroding oversight in the name of enforcement.