ICE says it will need a massive increase in funding, tens of thousands more beds to implement the Laken Riley Act

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tells lawmakers that the Laken Riley Act, an anti-illegal immigration bill expected to reach President-elect Trump’s desk in the coming weeks, will cost an extra $3 billion because the agency needs 60,000 additional detention beds.

ICE responded to questions from Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., about the impact of the Laken Riley Act. The bill passed the House this month and appears likely to pass the Senate. Requires DHS to detain illegal immigrants who have been arrested for theft-related crimes.

It also allows states to sue DHS for alleged failures to enforce immigration law. The project is named after Laken Riley, a Georgia student who was killed by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela last year. He has gathered the support of Republicans and several Democrats.

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ICE agents arrest a man. ICE agents arrested an Indian national following his conviction for child sexual abuse. (ICE ERO El Paso/X)

In the letter, obtained by Fox, ICE says it has identified tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who would meet the criteria for detention in both their detained and non-detained files. It said its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) has estimated the number of illegal immigrants on its national registry who meet the criteria to be more than 60,000. The letter was first reported by Politico.

“Since the Laken Riley Act requires ERO to immediately detain those noncitizens, ERO would require at least 64,000 additional detention beds; however, this does not account for other immigration enforcement mandates which may mean the need to increase detention capacity”.

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ICE estimates that increasing this capacity would require an increase in funding of approximately $3.2 billion. In addition, it will require an estimated 10 new Mobile Crisis Assistance Teams (MCATs) and one law enforcement officer in eight field offices, which will require an additional nearly $15 million along with associated equipment .

In particular, ERO says it currently has the authority to meet the requirements of the Act and would not require any additional authority.

The agency warned it may have to release tens of thousands of illegal immigrants if it doesn’t get the extra slot.

An ICE agent monitors hundreds of processed asylum seekers as they enter the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on June 6, 2023 in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

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“…(I) if no supplemental funding is received and ICE continues in its current bed capacitythe agency would not have the detention capacity to accommodate the immediate arrest and detention of noncitizens convicted or charged with property crimes,” he says. “ERO anticipates that tens of thousands of noncitizens should be released by the end of the fiscal year. , resulting in the potential release of threats to public safety.”

As challenges to implementation, he cites the challenges of having ICE officers, and also the challenges of sanctuary cities: “One complicating factor is the lack of cooperation from state and local ICE partners.” .

This is not the first alarm that ICE has sounded about its funding levels, as it noted in its FY24 report that it is already underfunded with its existing responsibilities.

“Throughout the year, the agency was asked to do more without commensurate funding, working within the constraints of strained resources and competing priorities while robustly supporting the Department of Homeland Security and its components in their efforts to secure the border,” the agency said. he said

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President-elect Trump has promised to launch a mass deportation operation, in which ICE would be the operational agency. In Congress, Republicans are preparing to make significant funding changes through the budget reconciliation process. Border security and domestic enforcement would likely be top priorities for Republicans, given the prominence of the issues in the 2024 election.