{"id":74731,"date":"2025-08-11T13:29:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T13:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/74731\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T13:29:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T13:29:08","slug":"congress-asks-questions-about-trumps-mass-deportations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/74731\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress asks questions about Trump’s mass deportations"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump\u2019s border czar Tom Homan<\/a> visited Capitol Hill just weeks after Inauguration Day, with other administration officials and a singular message: They needed money<\/a> for the White House\u2019s border security and mass deportation agenda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By summer, Congress delivered<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Republican Party\u2019s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts<\/a> that Trump signed into law July 4<\/a> included what\u2019s arguably the biggest boost of funds yet to the Department of Homeland Security \u2014 nearly $170 billion<\/a>, almost double its annual budget. <\/p>\n

The staggering sum is powering the nation\u2019s sweeping new Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> operations, delivering gripping scenes<\/a> of people being pulled off city streets<\/a> and from job sites<\/a> across the nation \u2014 the cornerstone of Trump\u2019s promise for the largest domestic deportation operation<\/a> in American history. Homeland Security confirmed over the weekend ICE is working to set up detention sites at certain military bases<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting them out at record numbers,\u201d Trump said at the White House bill signing ceremony. \u201cWe have an obligation to, and we\u2019re doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"White<\/p>\n

White House border czar Tom Homan speaks with reporters at the White House, Aug. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci, File)<\/p>\n

White House border czar Tom Homan speaks with reporters at the White House, Aug. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci, File)<\/p>\n

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Money flows, and so do questions<\/p>\n

The crush of new money<\/a> is setting off alarms in Congress and beyond, raising questions from lawmakers in both major political parties who are expected to provide oversight. The bill text provided general funding categories \u2014 almost $30 billion for ICE officers, $45 billion for detention facilities, $10 billion for the office of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem<\/a> \u2014 but few policy details or directives. Homeland Security recently announced $50,000 ICE hiring bonuses<\/a>. <\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just the big bill\u2019s fresh infusion of funds fueling the president\u2019s agenda of 1 million deportations a year.<\/p>\n

In the months since Trump took office, his administration has been shifting as much as $1 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other accounts to pay for immigration enforcement and deportation operations, lawmakers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour agency is out of control,\u201d Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Noem during a Senate committee hearing in the spring.<\/p>\n

The senator warned that Homeland Security would \u201cgo broke\u201d by July. <\/p>\n

Noem quickly responded that she always lives within her budget. <\/p>\n

But Murphy said later in a letter to Homeland Security, objecting to its repurposing funds, that ICE was being directed to spend at an \u201cindefensible and unsustainable rate to build a mass deportation army,\u201d often without approval from Congress.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An information packet and an American flag are placed on a chair at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Miami Field Office on Aug. 17, 2018, in Miami. (AP Photo\/Wilfredo Lee, File)<\/p>\n

An information packet and an American flag are placed on a chair at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Miami Field Office on Aug. 17, 2018, in Miami. (AP Photo\/Wilfredo Lee, File)<\/p>\n

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This past week, the new Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York, along with a subcommittee chairman, Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, requested a briefing from Noem on the border security components of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or OBBBA, which included $46 billion over the next four years for Trump\u2019s long-sought U.S.-Mexico border wall. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe write today to understand how the Department plans to outlay this funding to deliver a strong and secure homeland for years to come,\u201d the GOP lawmakers said in a letter to the homeland security secretary, noting border apprehensions are at record lows. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe respectfully request that you provide Committee staff with a briefing on the Department\u2019s plan to disburse OBBBA funding,\u201d they wrote, seeking a response by Aug. 22.<\/p>\n

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to The Associated Press the department is in daily discussions with the committee \u201cto honor all briefing requests including the spend plan for the funds allocated\u201d through the new law.<\/p>\n

\u201cICE is indeed pursuing all available options to expand bedspace capacity,\u201d she said. \u201cThis process does include housing detainees at certain military bases, including Fort Bliss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deportations move deep into communities<\/p>\n

All together, it\u2019s what observers on and off Capitol Hill see as a fundamental shift in immigration policy \u2014 enabling DHS to reach far beyond the U.S. southern border and deep into communities to conduct raids and stand up detention facilities as holding camps for immigrants.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Demonstrators<\/p>\n

Demonstrators hold signs during an immigration rally near the Pinellas County Jail in Clearwater, Fla., on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Chris Urso\/Tampa Bay Times via AP, File)<\/p>\n

Demonstrators hold signs during an immigration rally near the Pinellas County Jail in Clearwater, Fla., on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Chris Urso\/Tampa Bay Times via AP, File)<\/p>\n

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The Defense Department, the Internal Revenue Service and other agencies are being enlisted in what Kathleen Bush-Joseph, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, calls a \u201cwhole of government\u201d approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re orienting this huge shift,\u201d Bush-Joseph said, as deportation enforcement moves \u201cinward.\u201d <\/p>\n

The flood of cash comes when Americans\u2019 views on immigration are shifting<\/a>. Polling showed 79% of U.S. adults say immigration is a \u201cgood thing\u201d for the country, having jumped substantially from 64% a year ago, according to Gallup<\/a>. Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults say immigration is a bad thing right now.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Trump\u2019s approval rating<\/a> on immigration has slipped. According to a July AP-NORC poll<\/a>, 43% of U.S. adults said they approved of his handling of immigration, down slightly from 49% in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A protestor holds a sign during a demonstration organized by the Service Employees International Union protesting ICE detentions, in New Orleans, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo\/Gerald Herbert, File)<\/p>\n

A protestor holds a sign during a demonstration organized by the Service Employees International Union protesting ICE detentions, in New Orleans, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo\/Gerald Herbert, File)<\/p>\n

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Americans are watching<\/a> images of often masked officers arresting college students<\/a>, people at Home Depot<\/a> lots, parents<\/a>, workers<\/a> and a Tunisian musician<\/a>. Stories abound of people being whisked off to detention facilities, often without allegations of wrongdoing beyond being unauthorized to remain in the U.S. <\/p>\n

A new era of detention centers <\/p>\n

Detention centers are being stood up, from \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d in Florida<\/a> to the repurposed federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas,<\/a> and the proposed new \u201cSpeedway Slammer\u201d in Indiana<\/a>. Flights are ferrying migrants not just home or to El Salvador\u2019s notorious mega-prison but far away to Africa<\/a> and beyond.<\/p>\n

Homan has insisted in recent interviews those being detained and deported are the \u201cworst of the worst,\u201d and he dismissed as \u201cgarbage\u201d the reports showing many of those being removed have not committed violations beyond their irregular immigration status.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A federal agent escorts a man to a bus after he was detained following an appearance at immigration court, Monday, July 28, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo\/Eric Gay)<\/p>\n

A federal agent escorts a man to a bus after he was detained following an appearance at immigration court, Monday, July 28, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo\/Eric Gay)<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s no safe haven here,\u201d Homan said recently outside the White House. \u201cWe\u2019re going to do exactly what President Trump has promised the American people he\u2019d do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in February, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the Republican chairman of the Budget Committee, emerged from their private meeting saying Trump administration officials were \u201cbegging for money.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

As Graham got to work, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and a leading deficit hawk, proposed an alternative border package, at $39 billion, a fraction of the size. <\/p>\n

But Paul\u2019s proposal was quickly dismissed. He was among a handful of GOP lawmakers who joined all Democrats in voting against the final tax and spending cuts bill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump\u2019s border czar Tom Homan visited Capitol Hill just weeks after Inauguration Day,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,53218,22149,53215,3505,12,2822,2808,793,3138,44498,790,8262,2652,4412,53219,4801,15961,5852,26,53217,3,111,2825,53216,29207,3767,3770,795,3438,21,19,22,20,25,24,800],"class_list":["post-74731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-andrew-garbarino","tag-border-security","tag-chris-murphy","tag-district-of-columbia","tag-donald-trump","tag-fl-state-wire","tag-florida","tag-general-news","tag-government-and-politics","tag-immigrant-detention","tag-immigration","tag-in-state-wire","tag-indiana","tag-kansas","tag-kathleen-bush-joseph","tag-kristi-noem","tag-ks-state-wire","tag-lindsey-graham","tag-mexico","tag-michael-guest","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-prisons","tag-rand-paul","tag-tom-homan","tag-tricia-mclaughlin","tag-u-s-department-of-homeland-security","tag-u-s-news","tag-u-s-republican-party","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-washington-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}