At the same time as House and Senate Republicans mull over just how much funding should be cut away from crucial public services like Medicaid or Social Security, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem went in front of Congress to justify a $175 billion budget. Should the budget pass, it would make ICE (Immigration Customs and Enforcement) the largest law enforcement agency in the federal government, capable of fielding thousands of officers all over the country. It would also be a massive gift to private prison corporations, as the budget includes a 365% increase of the agency’s detention contracts, much of which goes to for-profit prison companies like GEO Group.
Simultaneously, the administration seeks to institute harsh penalties on those seeking asylum, many of whom come from the world’s poorest regions: “For the first time, the United States would charge people to apply for asylum — with the fee set at an unwaivable $1,000 minimum… an asylum applicant who had to wait five years to get a decision in our heavily backlogged asylum system would have to pay as much as $7,000 in fees to get a decision.” The result is clear: the means for regular people to apply for legal status would be effectively eliminated.
The Trump administration, through mouth pieces such as Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, have plainly stated that the goal is to deport millions of people, no matter the cost. They state plainly that they are doing so to ‘protect the homeland’ and safeguard so-called ‘real’ Americans. This is fascist rhetoric, from the highest levels of the U.S. government. Right now, ICE is scrambling to meet the 3,000 arrests per-day quota charged to the agency by administration officials, burning through its operating budget for the year. This is why we are seeing violent kidnappings from immigration courts, jobsites, and homes all over the country. Already, born citizens have been caught up in the arrests and lawful residents have been detained for their activism, like Mahmoud Khalil or Rumeysa Ozturk. This is nothing compared to what we will see and experience once the billions outlined in the “Big Beautiful Bill” are poured into ICE’s coffers. A deportation effort of a scale without precedent in U.S. history is being planned and funded, right in front of our eyes.
The government is organizing its forces. We must do the same.
