The Trump administration is choosing mass deportation over American families. While ICE’s budget has exploded to a record $85 billion—making it the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency—the administration is simultaneously gutting healthcare, food assistance, and community services that millions of Americans depend on.
The math is clear: Money that could keep rural hospitals open, expand health coverage, and feed hungry children is instead funding deportation operations that tear communities apart and devastate local economies.
ICE BUDGET EXPLOSION: Record Spending on Enforcement
- ICE’s annual budget skyrocketed from less than $6 billion just 10 years ago to $85 billion today, making it the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency – more than double the Trump administration’s entire 2026 $35 billion budget request for the Justice Department.
- The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in July 2025, allocated a $75 billion supplement for ICE that can be spent over four years, plus $45 billion specifically for expanding immigration detention facilities.
- Total: $170 billion directed to immigration enforcement while cutting programs American families need
HEALTHCARE GUTTED: Millions Losing Coverage
- 15 million people will lose health coverage and become uninsured by 2034 because of the Medicaid and ACA marketplace cuts.
- $1 trillion in cuts from Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) over the next decade.
- More than 300 rural hospitals are at risk of closure.
- At least 5.4 million more people are estimated to go into medical debt. Families whose coverage is terminated could see their medical debt increase by as much as $22,280.
- THE TRADE-OFF: While ICE gets billions annually, American families lose access to doctors, hospitals, and affordable care.
FOOD ASSISTANCE SLASHED: Millions Going Hungry
- $186 billion will be cut from SNAP through 2034.
- More than 5 million SNAP participants are at risk of losing benefits under the new work requirements – including 800,000 children and more than 500,000 adults who are 65 or older or disabled.
- The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 2.4 million Americans will actually lose their SNAP benefits in a given month once these provisions take effect.
- THE TRADE-OFF: The administration prioritizes ICE supplemental funding over feeding hungry American children and seniors.
LOCAL ECONOMIES DEVASTATED: The Real Cost of Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis
Business Revenue Collapse:
- $10 million to $20 million in lost sales per week across businesses in the city.
- Overall revenues down more than 50%
- Immigrant-owned businesses have been hardest hit, suffering estimated revenue losses of 80% to 100% as many have shut down entirely.
- The Lake Street Corridor’s more than 1,000 immigrant-owned businesses lost a cumulative $46 million in December and January alone.
Taxpayer Costs of the Operation:
- $9 million per week compensating ICE and Border Patrol agents deployed to Minnesota.
- $4.5 million per week for agents’ lodging and meals.
- $1.6 million per week for detention facilities operations.
- $2 million+ spent by the Minneapolis Police Department in just four days on police overtime responding to the ICE/CBP deployment.
THE MATH: Minneapolis loses $10-20 million weekly in business revenue while taxpayers fund $15+ million weekly in enforcement operations.
This isn’t about keeping us safe. It’s about dividing us and advancing a cruel, chaotic, and costly agenda. The Trump administration is choosing to spend record amounts on deportation operations while cutting programs that keep Americans healthy, fed, and economically stable.
