Top Takeaways - Immigration Is Now Every Agency’s Priority: In addition to bringing federal agencies into the immigration fold for the first time, the administration has also increased the role of agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), which previously served only very minor roles.
- At Home and Abroad, Governments Will Play a Crucial Role: State, local, and international governments are increasingly essential components of Washington’s focus on deportations, and the administration has threatened to use the power of the purse or tariffs to penalize those that refuse to cooperate.
- Heightened Rhetoric and Dramatic Imagery: Enlisting the use of military aircraft for deportation flights, detaining noncitizens at Guantanamo Bay, and launching high-profile PR campaigns are intended not just to facilitate removals but also instill fear in the resident unauthorized population and warn off would-be migrants. Claiming an “invasion” is underway, the administration’s muscular messaging is a central element of its policy.
- But Where Is the Money? Arresting, detaining, and deporting hundreds of thousands of noncitizens is expensive. The federal immigration enforcement budget has not changed since Trump entered office, although the administration has pleaded for more money from Congress—as much as $175 billion, which is nearly 20 times the current budget of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Even if the money comes through, it will still take time to retool agencies and bring new detention facilities online, all of which could mean curbs on the administration’s pledge to remove millions of unauthorized immigrants.
- Echoes of the Post-9/11 Era: After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, the federal government was dramatically remolded to prioritize the national security and counterterror mission. That may be the best recent parallel for the transformation now underway to retool the government for mass deportations.
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Did You Know? The Venezuelan immigrant population is one of the fastest-growing foreign-born populations in the United States, more than quadrupling from 2010 to 2023. Yet only a fraction of the 7.9 million Venezuelans who have fled their country since 2015 amid a deep political and economic crisis live in the United States; 85 percent reside elsewhere in Latin America and the Caribbean. Get essential insights on this group with our Spotlight article “Venezuelan Immigrants in the United States.” |
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Migration Information Source
Read MPI's journal, which publishes interesting articles that delve into U.S. and global migration issues; profile countries' migration histories, trends, and laws; and offer accessible, data-rich spotlights of U.S. immigrant populations. |
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