How much has spending changed on Homeland Security?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, your big brain, the information provided and any links below:
Congress created the Department of Homeland Security in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Homeland Security Department was tasked with preventing terrorism, protecting the president, investigating transnational crime and responding to natural disasters, among other duties. Immigration enforcement was one of many responsibilities, but it was not envisioned as D.H.S.’s singular function. According to the data from the visual above, how much did the old annual budget spend in total?
Identify the following operational components of the Department of Homeland Security as either I = immigration centered or NI = non-immigration centered.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP): Secures the nation's borders at and between ports of entry.
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG): An armed force that protects the U.S. coastline, ports, and waterways.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): Coordinates disaster response and recovery efforts.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): Enforces federal laws on immigration and customs.
U.S. Secret Service (USSS): Protects national leaders and the financial infrastructure of the United States.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA): Protects the nation's transportation systems.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): Oversees lawful immigration to the United States.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): Works to defend against cyber and physical threats to the nation's critical infrastructure.
Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC): Provides training for federal law enforcement agencies.
Federal Protective Service (FPS): Protects federal buildings.
Science and Technology Directorate: The research and development arm of DHS.
Management Directorate: Handles administrative and support functions like budget, HR, and IT.
Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office: Coordinates efforts to prevent the use of WMDs.
Office of Intelligence and Analysis: Collects and analyzes intelligence related to homeland security threats.
This summer Congress passed, H.R.1 - One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with a new budget for the department of Homeland Security was recently approved. According to the data from the visual above, how much did the new annual budget spend in total?
Based on the data from the visual above, describe the change in for non-immigration spending versus immigration spending from the old annual budget to the new annual budget?
H.R.1 - One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was enacted this summer made the administration’s priorities clear, with about $162 billion in new D.H.S. funding for border security and immigration enforcement, significantly shifting the department’s focus. More than half of the department’s annual budget is projected to fund immigration activities over the next few years, up from 37 percent during the last fiscal year. Why do you think spending on immigration enforcement is increasing?
How does the fact that the Congress passed H.R.1 - One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the President is in charge of the Department of Homeland Security illustrate the concept of separation of powers?
If Congress did not like the way ICE was conducting its business, what could they do to change it?
According the the visual above, the budget for U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) is roughly $29 billion this year. ICE’s budget is expected to nearly triple and its staff to grow by 66 percent, an investment that will make it the nation’s highest-funded law enforcement agency. ICE’s buget will be larger than the combined budgets of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): $10.8 billion; Drug Enforcement Agency (D.E.A): $3.4 billion; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): $1.952 billion; U.S. Marshals Service (USMS): $1.9 billion; and the The U.S. Secret Service: $3.2 billion. How would you rank these agencies in terms of funding priorities?
According to immigration enforcement specialist, Austin Kocher, “Just 2.6% of those arrested by ICE this year had any prior offense serious enough for ICE to place them in the high-risk category. That means more than 97% of the people swept up in this high-profile, taxpayer-funded enforcement operation were not the ‘worst of the worst,’ despite repeated claims to the contrary.” Federal data shows that many immigrants being arrested do not have criminal records in the United States. Fewer than 40 percent of people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement have a criminal conviction. Roughly 8 percent of those arrested had been convicted of a violent crime, while about 9 percent had a traffic conviction, the analysis found. Why do you think the U.S. is spending so much money and time to round up people who are not serious criminals.
While some spending at DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is going up, other areas are being cut. In fact, the Trump immigration operation has also pulled in thousands of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; and at least four other federal law enforcement agencies, documents show. “D.H.S. keeps being pulled further away from its core missions in protecting the homeland,” said David Lapan, who served as the department’s press secretary during the first Trump administration. “These distractions could have deadly consequences.” Homeland security agents investigating sexual crimes against children, for instance, have been redeployed to the immigrant crackdown for weeks at a time, hampering their pursuit of child predators. A national security probe into the black market for Iranian oil sold to finance terrorism has been slowed down for months because of the shift to immigration work, allowing tanker ships and money to disappear. And federal efforts to combat human smuggling and sex trafficking have languished with investigators reassigned to help staff deportation efforts. The changes have extended deep into D.H.S.’s public-safety mission, as the Coast Guard has diverted aircraft to transport immigrants between detention centers and the department’s law enforcement academy has delayed training for many agencies to prioritize new immigration officers. What kind of consequences could result in cutting non-immigration spending for DHS?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
Contact your members of Congress and let them know what you think about DHS spending.
Get Creative
ICE is currently in my state, North Carolina, rounding up unauthorized immigrants. Imagine you were an ICE officer. What would it be like to deport people who had lived here for years and years? What would it be like to scare so many people? What would it be like to put people in detention? Try to imagine the weight it must be for an ICE agent. Create something (poem, rap, short story, sketch, drawing, collage, visual art) to respond to how ICE agents must feel about their challenging job.
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