GOP's delivery of megabill is central to Trump's primary campaign promise
Senior administration officials have maintained steady communication with Congress regarding the necessary funding to enhance removal efforts.
TroibNews 
President Donald Trump's prospects for advancing his stalled deportation agenda depend on congressional Republicans determining what cuts they will make to fund it.
White House border czar Tom Homan has been urging GOP lawmakers for additional funding for several months as the administration has faced difficulties in initiating the mass deportation campaign that the president previously promised. Senior officials in the administration have maintained ongoing communication with lawmakers about the necessary figures to enhance deportation efforts.
Republicans seem prepared to allocate more resources to the White House than what officials have requested. The proposals emerging from the House and Senate would enable immigration oversight committees to spend between $200 billion and $350 billion—significantly more than Homan’s estimate of a required $86 billion to execute the deportation initiative.
While there is consensus among Republicans about the need to invest billions into the president’s top campaign priority, resolving how to finance this increase—alongside the extension of tax breaks signed into law during Trump's previous term—remains a challenge.
A memo from the Department of Homeland Security issued last month cautioned Senate and House Republicans that failing to pass the necessary legislation would "undo all the Trump Administration’s Massive Successes." The budget outline released by the president on Friday emphasized the White House's focus: Trump called for a 65 percent increase in funding for border security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while seeking substantial cuts elsewhere in the federal budget.
“It’s No. 1 for those guys … what we want is what they want,” stated House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green. “We all want to get this done … we’re going full speed.”
The proposed funding would provide ICE with an unprecedented financial boost, enabling the Trump administration to recruit thousands of additional agents and expand detention facilities across the nation. It would also facilitate outsourcing aspects of the deportation process to private contractors, who could assist in locating and detaining migrants in for-profit facilities.
Trump's promise to swiftly remove millions of undocumented immigrants has encountered numerous obstacles. The administration has faced challenges from a congested immigration court system and limitations regarding detention space and staffing, which has stretched ICE agents thin as they aim to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants this year—four times last year's figures.
Michael Kagan, director of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Immigration Clinic, remarked, “We should understand that until they have that money and can start to spend that money, no one should really think that they can start raising the deportation numbers that much. They need that money, and that is the first step for expanding detention space.”
The House GOP outline advises billions of dollars for detention facilities and for hiring and retaining immigration enforcement personnel, setting the stage for the historic crackdown that immigration hardliners have long sought.
“You’re going to be able to build a wall. You’re going to have detention facilities, deportation, all of that stuff,” noted Michael Hough, director of federal relations at NumbersUSA, an organization focused on reducing both legal and illegal immigration. “This would be huge, historic.”
According to ICE, approximately 65,700 immigrants have been deported since Trump assumed office, although these numbers have faced scrutiny from experts. The agency has reported 66,500 arrests since January, claiming that three-quarters of them were undocumented immigrants with criminal records.
This year's monthly deportation rates under the Trump administration have been lower than those of the Biden administration during the same period last year. This is partly due to the greater ease of deporting individuals arrested at the border compared to those apprehended within the country, as the volume of border crossings has significantly declined since Trump took office.
“They’ve had tremendous success in securing the border. We just want to make sure they can continue to do that,” asserted House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan.
However, additional funding alone will not solve all of Trump's difficulties. Deborah Fleischaker, former acting chief of staff for ICE under the Biden administration, cautioned that “arresting and detaining more people” does not automatically translate into more removals. Many migrants' home countries—especially those of individuals with criminal backgrounds—often refuse to accept them back. This has led the Trump administration to secure a deal with El Salvador for accepting deportees and to engage in negotiations with other nations.
Moreover, the processes of hiring, vetting, and training new agents require time and resources, and new detention facilities will not be operational immediately. The president's rhetoric has generated fear within communities, prompting many immigrants to seek legal assistance or go into hiding.
As one ICE official, speaking anonymously, put it, “We’re a long ways away from 100,000 beds and a million removals. A million removals, that’s like 30,000 removals a week. During the previous three administrations, the removal stats were juiced because of all the people crossing the border. A million removals from the interior requires a million arrests. And now everyone is actively hiding and thwarting us.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has set a target date of July 4 for passing the GOP megabill, which they aim to implement using fast-track budget procedures to bypass a potential Democratic filibuster. Several committees are still finalizing their plans, addressing complex cuts to Medicaid, while the House and Senate will need to agree on their respective proposals.
The House Judiciary Committee has suggested generating revenue through new fees for individuals applying via the legal immigration system, such as a minimum $1,000 fee for asylum seekers and a $3,500 fee for sponsors of unaccompanied minors.
Democrats appear to have limited means to block the bill's passage, given the potential for GOP unity.
Yet, unlike during Trump’s first term when a funding stalemate over the border wall led to the longest government shutdown in history, Democrats have not focused their criticisms on the immigration and border provisions of this bill. Instead, they have emphasized the potential cuts to various government programs. During a recent committee markup, House Homeland Security Committee Democrats largely refrained from commenting on the tens of billions of dollars allocated for the border wall system in the committee's bill.
Lucas Dupont for TROIB News
White House border czar Tom Homan has been urging GOP lawmakers for additional funding for several months as the administration has faced difficulties in initiating the mass deportation campaign that the president previously promised. Senior officials in the administration have maintained ongoing communication with lawmakers about the necessary figures to enhance deportation efforts.
Republicans seem prepared to allocate more resources to the White House than what officials have requested. The proposals emerging from the House and Senate would enable immigration oversight committees to spend between $200 billion and $350 billion—significantly more than Homan’s estimate of a required $86 billion to execute the deportation initiative.
While there is consensus among Republicans about the need to invest billions into the president’s top campaign priority, resolving how to finance this increase—alongside the extension of tax breaks signed into law during Trump's previous term—remains a challenge.
A memo from the Department of Homeland Security issued last month cautioned Senate and House Republicans that failing to pass the necessary legislation would "undo all the Trump Administration’s Massive Successes." The budget outline released by the president on Friday emphasized the White House's focus: Trump called for a 65 percent increase in funding for border security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while seeking substantial cuts elsewhere in the federal budget.
“It’s No. 1 for those guys … what we want is what they want,” stated House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green. “We all want to get this done … we’re going full speed.”
The proposed funding would provide ICE with an unprecedented financial boost, enabling the Trump administration to recruit thousands of additional agents and expand detention facilities across the nation. It would also facilitate outsourcing aspects of the deportation process to private contractors, who could assist in locating and detaining migrants in for-profit facilities.
Trump's promise to swiftly remove millions of undocumented immigrants has encountered numerous obstacles. The administration has faced challenges from a congested immigration court system and limitations regarding detention space and staffing, which has stretched ICE agents thin as they aim to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants this year—four times last year's figures.
Michael Kagan, director of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Immigration Clinic, remarked, “We should understand that until they have that money and can start to spend that money, no one should really think that they can start raising the deportation numbers that much. They need that money, and that is the first step for expanding detention space.”
The House GOP outline advises billions of dollars for detention facilities and for hiring and retaining immigration enforcement personnel, setting the stage for the historic crackdown that immigration hardliners have long sought.
“You’re going to be able to build a wall. You’re going to have detention facilities, deportation, all of that stuff,” noted Michael Hough, director of federal relations at NumbersUSA, an organization focused on reducing both legal and illegal immigration. “This would be huge, historic.”
According to ICE, approximately 65,700 immigrants have been deported since Trump assumed office, although these numbers have faced scrutiny from experts. The agency has reported 66,500 arrests since January, claiming that three-quarters of them were undocumented immigrants with criminal records.
This year's monthly deportation rates under the Trump administration have been lower than those of the Biden administration during the same period last year. This is partly due to the greater ease of deporting individuals arrested at the border compared to those apprehended within the country, as the volume of border crossings has significantly declined since Trump took office.
“They’ve had tremendous success in securing the border. We just want to make sure they can continue to do that,” asserted House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan.
However, additional funding alone will not solve all of Trump's difficulties. Deborah Fleischaker, former acting chief of staff for ICE under the Biden administration, cautioned that “arresting and detaining more people” does not automatically translate into more removals. Many migrants' home countries—especially those of individuals with criminal backgrounds—often refuse to accept them back. This has led the Trump administration to secure a deal with El Salvador for accepting deportees and to engage in negotiations with other nations.
Moreover, the processes of hiring, vetting, and training new agents require time and resources, and new detention facilities will not be operational immediately. The president's rhetoric has generated fear within communities, prompting many immigrants to seek legal assistance or go into hiding.
As one ICE official, speaking anonymously, put it, “We’re a long ways away from 100,000 beds and a million removals. A million removals, that’s like 30,000 removals a week. During the previous three administrations, the removal stats were juiced because of all the people crossing the border. A million removals from the interior requires a million arrests. And now everyone is actively hiding and thwarting us.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has set a target date of July 4 for passing the GOP megabill, which they aim to implement using fast-track budget procedures to bypass a potential Democratic filibuster. Several committees are still finalizing their plans, addressing complex cuts to Medicaid, while the House and Senate will need to agree on their respective proposals.
The House Judiciary Committee has suggested generating revenue through new fees for individuals applying via the legal immigration system, such as a minimum $1,000 fee for asylum seekers and a $3,500 fee for sponsors of unaccompanied minors.
Democrats appear to have limited means to block the bill's passage, given the potential for GOP unity.
Yet, unlike during Trump’s first term when a funding stalemate over the border wall led to the longest government shutdown in history, Democrats have not focused their criticisms on the immigration and border provisions of this bill. Instead, they have emphasized the potential cuts to various government programs. During a recent committee markup, House Homeland Security Committee Democrats largely refrained from commenting on the tens of billions of dollars allocated for the border wall system in the committee's bill.
Lucas Dupont for TROIB News
