Aug 26, 10:57 AM

Trump’s $75 B ICE Expansion Fuels Surge in Arrests and Staff Burnout

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has become the centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s pledge to launch the largest deportation program in U.S. history. Bolstered by $75 billion in new funding approved in July, the agency now enjoys resources that surpass those of most federal law-enforcement bodies combined, as well as broad latitude to conduct raids in cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The money is financing an unprecedented hiring and expansion drive. ICE aims to add 10,000 deportation officers over the next four years, shorten academy training to 47 days and wrap thousands of new vehicles in high-visibility branding. Detention capacity is set to rise from roughly 59,000 migrants today to more than 100,000, with officers under pressure from the White House to reach arrest quotas approaching 3,000 a day. Aggressive enforcement, however, is straining the agency’s 21,000-strong workforce. Current and former officials told Reuters that burnout is mounting as personnel work extended shifts, confront public protests and, in some cases, rely on artificial-intelligence leads that have produced mistaken arrests. Specialist investigators reassigned from human-trafficking and gang cases to routine round-ups say morale is slipping, even as administration officials insist officers are "excited to do their jobs again." Public scrutiny is intensifying as videos of masked agents detaining parents outside schools and workers at job sites circulate online. While the administration argues the crackdown targets "the worst of the worst," internal data obtained by researchers show a sharp rise in arrests of migrants with no criminal record. Trump’s approval rating on immigration has fallen seven percentage points since March, underscoring the political risks of the high-profile campaign.

#Immigration and Customs Enforcement #Donald Trump #ICE #White House #Reuters #Trump

Written with ChatGPT .

Trump’s $75 B ICE Expansion Fuels Surge in Arrests and Staff Burnout

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