President Donald Trump wants to boost the nation’s border security budget by nearly $44 billion, for one year only.
The proposal would raise the Department of Homeland Security budget by two-thirds to $107 billion, from $65 billion, for fiscal year 2026.
The one-time funding surge would enable DHS to pay for the president’s planned deportation campaign, build border fencing, modernize the Coast Guard fleet and enhance Secret Service operations, according to the proposal.
The proposal would at the same time cut funding for programs that support vulnerable migrants or make investments in migrants’ home countries to create the economic and security conditions that would encourage them to remain.
It cuts or eliminates funding for programs that resettle refugees, place unaccompanied minors with sponsors, provide emergency shelter to migrants and for USAID, the State Department entity that funded programs overseas. The president’s proposal is a request; Congress holds the power of the purse to appropriate money to fund the government.
DHS is the umbrella agency for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection – two agencies that are key to Trump’s deportation and border security agenda.
“ICE, CBP all of these different agencies, have consistently felt underfunded for the missions they are allocated with,” said Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, associate policy analyst with the nonpartisan Migration Policy Instititute. “For mass deportation, ICE has said it doesn’t have the resources to do it.”
More: Trump has cracked down on immigration and the border. At what cost?
The proposed injection of funds could pay for additional staffing or ICE charter flights for deportations, she said. But it doesn’t erase all the obstacles; ICE has for years tried to boost staffing but has struggled to recruit and hire, despite having the funding in place.
“The money can get at some of the problems, but it’s important to note there are still many hurdles for the administration to carry out deportations at the scale they are seeking to,” she said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump proposes huge spending increase on border, deportations
