Trump’s $170 Billion ICE Plan to Fuel Mass Deportations

On June 24, 2025, the Senate approved a $170 billion spending package that would transform U.S. immigration enforcement. As drafted, the bill directs massive resources to ICE, creating the infrastructure and staffing needed for large-scale mass deportations. It funds thousands of new agents, expands detention capacity for families and adults, and imposes fees that block asylum access. It also boosts border wall construction and local partnerships to support enforcement. If enacted, this plan would accelerate removals, strain legal safeguards, and reshape the rights of noncitizens. This analysis explains how each provision works and its impact on vulnerable migrants and local communities.

Table of Contents

1. Overview

2. Funding Surge and Mass Deportations

3. Staffing Boost for Mass Deportations

4. Infrastructure for Mass Deportations

5. Fee Hikes and Mass Deportations

6. Impact of Mass Deportations on Families

7. Economic Toll of Mass Deportations

8. Legal Risks Surrounding Mass Deportations

9. Mitigating Mass Deportations Risks

1. Overview

On June 24, 2025, the Senate approved a 940‑page spending bill that dedicates $170 billion to immigration enforcement—the largest single-year boost in ICE’s history. If the House concurs, this influx will expand detention capacity to hold at least 116,000 noncitizens daily, fund construction of hundreds of miles of new border wall, and hire thousands of additional enforcement officers. It also imposes new fees—$100 to file an asylum claim plus $100 per year pending—and caps immigration judges at 800 despite a backlog of over 2 million cases. This article will dissect how these provisions—staffing surges, infrastructure build‑outs, fee hikes, and court limitations—combine to supercharge mass deportations, restrict access to protection, and reshape America’s asylum and border system. This overview highlights the bill’s core measures, potential legal conflicts (including Flores settlement violations), and the human impact on vulnerable migrants and communities.

2. Funding Surge and Mass Deportations

3. Staffing Boost for Mass Deportations

• Thousands of New ICE Officers: The bill funds the hiring of at least 5,000 additional deportation agents, doubling ICE’s current Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) workforce. More officers mean more patrols, more workplace raids, and faster processing of removal orders.

• Arrest Quotas Codified: Language in Section 402 mandates daily arrest targets—3,000 noncitizens per day, or roughly 1 million per year—first proposed by White House adviser Stephen Miller in May 2025. Failure to meet quotas could trigger funding cuts or performance penalties.

• Specialized Units Expanded: New rapid‑response teams will deploy to sanctuary jurisdictions, using local task forces under the DHS State and Local Agreement Program (DHS.gov/slap) to maximize ICE reach.

By swelling its ranks and imposing hard arrest goals, ICE would gain the manpower and performance pressure to conduct mass deportations at speeds never before seen.

4. Infrastructure for Mass Deportations

1. Detention Centers:

   • $30 billion for 10 new family detention facilities and 20 adult-only centers.

   • Plans call for 116,000 beds—up from today’s 44,000—enabling round‑the‑clock intake and minimal release.

2. Border Wall Construction:

   • $46.6 billion to build 800 miles of reinforced steel barrier, triple the mileage built under Trump’s first term.

   • New “virtual wall” technologies—drones, sensors, and radars—integrate with physical fencing under DHS’s Tactical Infrastructure Program.

3. Transport Assets:

   • $5 billion for ICE’s air and ground fleets, adding 50 buses and 10 deportation aircraft to shuttle detainees nationwide.

   • Contracts with private prison firms to guarantee space and logistics.

This build‑out of beds, walls, and vehicles establishes the physical framework required to detain and remove large populations swiftly.

5. Fee Hikes and Mass Deportations

• Asylum Application Fees: A $100 filing fee plus $100 per year pending (currently $0) creates a financial barrier to protection, pushing low‑income claimants into expedited removal if they cannot pay.

• Work Permits & TPS: Employment Authorization Document fees jump from $410 to $820 (100% increase); Temporary Protected Status applications rise from $50 to $200 (300% increase).

• Nonimmigrant Visa Surcharges: Each tourist, student, or business visa now carries an extra $150 levy, funding arrest operations.

These “wealth tests” guarantee that those lacking resources face quicker denial and deportation, streamlining mass deportations by eliminating time‑consuming relief processes.

6. Impact Families

• Indefinite Family Detention: Bill language broadens Flores settlement exceptions, allowing children to remain in detention with parents beyond the current 20‑day cap, risking developmental harm. (Flores v. Reno)

• Forced Separation: Rapid processing protocols prioritize adult removal over family unity, increasing cases where children enter foster care or unaccompanied minor programs.

• Psychological Trauma: Research from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network shows detained children suffer anxiety, depression, and long‑term behavioral issues.

Expanding bed capacity and eliminating time limits sets the stage for routine, household‑wide mass deportations, fracturing family units and harming children’s well‑being.

7. Economic Toll of Mass Deportations

• Job Losses: EPI projects nearly 6 million lost jobs across agriculture, construction, hospitality, and care sectors over four years as undocumented workers are removed.

• Consumer Spending Decline: Deported families’ $200 billion annual spending evaporates, shrinking local economies, especially in rural and service‑based communities.

• Fiscal Impact: CBO estimates the bill adds $3.3 trillion to the deficit over a decade; lost tax revenue from deported workers could tack on another $1 trillion.

By ignoring immigrants’ economic contributions—$160 billion in payroll taxes in FY 2024 (IRS data)—the bill sacrifices growth and revenue in pursuit of mass deportations.

8. Legal Risks

• Flores Settlement Violations: Detaining children indefinitely may violate the 1997 consent decree; class‑action suits could block family lockups (ACLU v. DHS).

• Fee‑Hike Litigation: Federal courts have previously struck down application fees that “unduly burden” asylum access (DHS v. Innovation Law Lab).

• State and Local Pushback: At least 15 states have threatened to withdraw from ICE partnership under DHS’s State and Local Agreement Program (DHS.gov/slap), raising civil rights and budget concerns.

These legal battles could stall or enjoin parts of the bill, undermining its mass deportation machinery.

9. Mitigating Mass Deportations Risks

1. Legal Advocacy: Fund and support suits at the American Immigration Council (ImmigrationCouncil.org) and ACLU to enforce Flores and challenge fee hikes.

2. Legislative Outreach: Urge members of Congress via congress.gov to amend or repeal provisions that override child‑safety protections and impose punitive fees.

3. Community Pro Bono Networks: Expand programs like the Immigration Justice Campaign to provide free counsel to detained families.

4. Public Education Campaigns: Use social media, town halls, and mainstream outlets to highlight human and economic costs of mass deportations, building public opposition.

Coordinated legal, policy, and grassroots efforts offer the best chance to counter this bill’s harshest mass deportation measures.

Maple Crest Immigration Law Firm