According to internal documents reviewed by The Inquisitr, after limiting ICE raids on certain businesses and factories in 2025, the Trump administration announced plans to expand deportation operations nationwide in 2026.
The U.S. government has allocated $170 billion and aims to deport one million people annually. This is equivalent to deporting a population the size of San Jose, California each year, providing a clearer perspective on the scale of these operations. However, public support for these efforts is declining.
2025 marked a significant shift in U.S. immigration policy, which the Trump administration describes as only the beginning. Nine months after the inauguration, the administration laid the groundwork for a series of aggressive measures to control immigration flows.
Following the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” last July, which allocated $170 billion for immigration enforcement, federal authorities are preparing to expand operations in 2026, The Inquisitr reports. The bill’s name, echoing Trump’s campaign rhetoric, is intended to highlight his political strategy of branding legislative initiatives in ways that resonate with his supporters.
The administration aims to deport one million people each year. Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, approximately 622,000 people have been deported, according to Reuters. For comparison, the annual deportation figures under previous administrations were significantly lower, with an average of about 300,000 deportations per year from 2009 to 2016 during the Obama administration. Officials view this as an initial phase.
An Unprecedented Budgetary Arsenal
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed after Vice President J.D. Vance cast the deciding Senate vote. It represents the largest congressional allocation for immigration enforcement to date. The Brennan Center for Justice notes that this budget exceeds the annual spending of all local and state police forces nationwide. To put this into perspective, the $170 billion allocated for immigration enforcement is nearly five times the federal education budget, highlighting significant trade-offs in national policy priorities.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will receive nearly $75 billion over four years, including $45 billion for new detention centers and $30 billion for arrest and deportation operations. “The bill will supercharge immigration enforcement,” Kathleen Bush-Joseph, an attorney at the Migration Policy Institute, told CBS News. Adding to this perspective, conservative fiscal analyst Robert Harding suggests that while the financial investment is substantial, it could lead to economic benefits by boosting security and potentially reducing irregular migration-related expenditures. However, this remains a contentious issue, with varying opinions on the cost-effectiveness and ethical implications of such spending.
With this funding, ICE plans to hire 10,000 new officers, doubling its workforce. The agency also intends to purchase new aircraft, including a Boeing 737, to expedite deportation flights, The Inquisitr reports.
Raids Expanding Nationwide
In 2026, the administration will expand arrest operations to additional cities, including “sanctuary cities” that typically do not fully cooperate with federal immigration officials. Workplace raids, previously limited due to economic concerns, will become more frequent, according to The Inquisitr.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker strongly criticized these actions in an interview with NBC Chicago. “They call it enforcement. We call it harassment,” he said. “We don’t know how long they’ll stay. It appears that they’re here for at least a couple of days, if not longer.” In contrast, a local business owner in Chicago expressed concerns about the impact of these raids on their workforce. “We’ve had a number of our employees express their fears about these raids,” said Maria Lopez, owner of a small manufacturing firm. “It’s not just about losing valuable employees; it’s about the disruption to their lives and our community. This is not how we want to do business or treat people.”
The American Immigration Council states that the budget allocates $13.5 billion to reimburse states for their assistance with immigration enforcement. This includes Texas for “Operation Lone Star” and Florida for operating detention centers such as the controversial “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Everglades.
Legal Residents Also in the Crosshairs
The crackdown extends beyond undocumented immigrants. The Inquisitr reports that the administration has directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to process 100 to 200 denaturalization cases per month, compared to an average of 11 per month from 1990 to 2017. For clarity, denaturalization is the revocation of an individual’s U.S. citizenship, typically for fraud or other violations during the naturalization process. In contrast, deportation involves the removal of an individual who is not lawfully present in the country.
There are reports of spouses of permanent residents or U.S. citizens being required to leave the country, as well as U.S. military veterans facing deportation, The Inquisitr reports. Civil rights groups have criticized these actions.
Sarah Mehta, Deputy Director of Government Affairs at the ACLU, described the spending bill as dangerous. “With over $170 billion, ICE will become the largest law enforcement agency in the U.S., with a bigger budget than most of the world’s militaries,” she told Newsweek. “Armed with this funding, this administration will be able to multiply its violent raids and detain over 750,000 children, parents, and longtime residents.” Notably, past reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics highlighted that between 2017 and 2019, over 2,500 children were held in detention centers, underscoring the heavy toll such policies can impose on families.
Declining Public Support
Although the administration expresses confidence in its policies, public support is declining.
An AP-NORC poll from December 2025 found that only 38% of Americans now approve of Trump’s handling of immigration, down 11 points from March. Among independent voters, approval drops to just 26%. The Inquisitr also reports a similar trend: 50% of Americans supported Trump’s anti-immigration agenda in March, but by the holiday season, support declined to 41%.
A CBS News/YA CBS News/YouGov poll from July 2025 shows that 51% of Americans now disapprove of the administration’s deportation program, up from 41% in February. Significant partisan differences remain: only 9% of Republicans oppose these policies, compared to 59% of independents and 86% of Democrats, according to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Elections Loom
With less than a year until the 2026 midterm elections, some anticipated a relaxation of immigration policy. However, the administration has stated that enforcement will intensify next year, and the “One Big Beautiful Bill” funds will be used through the Brennan Center for Justice, which refers to this situation as a “deportation-industrial complex.” The group notes that less than 8% of the $170.7 billion budget is allocated to processing cases in immigration courts, creating an imbalance between enforcement and legal protections. With the elections nearing, voters might question what policy levers remain before November. This upcoming electoral period could see potential shifts depending on public sentiment and political maneuvering, raising important questions about the future of immigration policy.
For millions of undocumented individuals, legal immigrants, and some citizens in the United States, 2026 is expected to present significant risks.
Sources: The Inquisitr (Jashandeep Singh), Reuters, CBS News, Brennan Center for Justice, Migration Policy Institute, Newsweek, NBC Chicago, AP-NORC
