The Darkest Chapter of Immigration Enforcement Starts Now
Congressional Republicans just spent another $70 billion on mass deportations. The only silver lining here is that ICE will never get its legitimacy back.
COLUMN — Two votes. That’s the margin — 214–212, party-line — by which House Republicans put mass deportations on steroids Tuesday night, passing a $70 billion budget reconciliation package that bankrolls immigration enforcement through fiscal year 2029 with no Democratic votes and no annual appropriations fight ever again. President Trump signed it into law Wednesday morning in the Oval Office. They named it the Secure America Act.
The new law splits the money explicitly between the two agencies at the center of the crackdown: $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for Customs and Border Protection, and $5 billion for broader Department of Homeland Security operations.
Because it moved through reconciliation, Republicans cleared it with simple majorities in both chambers, sidestepping a Senate Democratic filibuster and resolving the multi-month funding impasse that triggered a partial DHS shutdown this spring. The Senate passed the package late last week. The House finished the job Tuesday. The president’s signature took less than a day.
I don’t think I need to tell anyone here that this is seriously bad news for immigrant communities.
The Sea Change
The only discernible silver lining is that Democrats stood together against ICE — blocking the funding for months. They fought hard and lost. But the fact that they fought at all marks a sea change from the era when the majority of Democrats funded the agency in lockstep, year after year, going back to its founding in 2002.
That era is over. Democrats are no longer divided on ICE. From the minority in both chambers, they blocked additional funds to the agency for the better part of a year. Imagine what they could do with majorities — or a trifecta, where Democrats could dismantle ICE as thoroughly as DOGE wrecked USAID.
What Wasn’t Won
In the end, it was never enough just to withhold funding from a foul, corrupt and murderous agency that saw its budget increase nearly tenfold last year. Democrats knew that, so they fought for structural reforms. The most important were always:
Prohibiting masks on agents.
Requiring judicial warrants.
Neither aim was achieved. Neither would have been sufficient anyway — especially now that Stephen Miller’s mass deportation machine is funded at roughly $240 billion in mandatory spending between now and 2029.
The Spine and the Onslaught
We are entering an unprecedentedly dark chapter for immigration enforcement. But if there is any solace to take from this loss, it’s that the political consensus on ICE is permanently broken. The agency is the most hated federal agency in America. Opposition is everywhere — and wildly unafraid of the agents hiding behind masks in their communities.
The question is whether that spine can hold against a $240 billion onslaught, especially as ICE returns to operating in the shadows, targeting Latinos when green ghosts aren’t looking, per Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s stated strategy for the agency.
If You See Something, Say Something
So it’s up to us to remain aware — sharing tips here, on X, or on Signal. Last year, we cast a burning spotlight of accountability on ICE, wide and bright. This work must continue now more than ever.
If you see something, say something. Share stories, clips, links, tips, no matter how small or trivial they may seem. Together we’ll sort through them — breaking news when it’s there, breathing a collective sigh of relief when it’s not. This is grueling work. But it’s where we’re at, where we’re headed, and where we’ll forever be if we ever stop fighting back.
One way you can get involved in the movement to hold ICE and Border Patrol accountable in this terrible era of mass deportations is to support fully independent press like Migrant Insider, still the only immigration news boutique covering out nation’s capital. To help us continue to hold the government’s feet to the fire, consider subscribing today:
The real question is will the democrats finally reform the immigration process?
What's your estimate of what percentage of the DHS boondoggle will simply disappear into the pockets of crooks contracted for phony deals? I'm guessing something like 30 percent. Not anywhere close to enough to put 'em out of business, but worth tracking and exposing.