Summary
The U.S. is debating a spending bill that includes significant funding for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. If the Senate does not approve the bill, a partial government shutdown could start on Saturday. ICE's budget is now larger than the annual military budgets of several countries.
Key Facts
- ICE's annual budget now exceeds $29 billion.
- This budget is higher than the entire defense budgets of countries like Denmark and Romania.
- Seven House Democrats and Republicans supported a $64.4 billion spending bill for Homeland Security, including $10 billion for ICE.
- The Senate has not yet approved the spending bill; failure to pass it by Saturday could lead to a government shutdown.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased ICE funding to around $75 billion over four years.
- ICE has expanded its operations, increasing detention capacity and hiring more agents.
- ICE's current budget allows flexible spending, with the majority being "unobligated," meaning it can be used as needed.
