House FY2018 DHS Appropriations Bill Increases Funding for Mass Deportations

H.R. 3355, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act of 2018, provides for huge increases in funding for DHS that would allow the Trump administration to carry and implement mass deportations. The federal government already spends almost $20 billion per year on immigration enforcement (more than all other federal enforcement agencies combined), resulting in more than 400,000 deportations each year. The proposed drastic increase in funding will permit Trump to build a border wall, hire more border patrol agents, expand immigration detention, and increase prosecutions of those individuals who cross the border without authority to do so. More specifically, Trump is requesting supplemental funding for FY17 in the amount of $1.5 billion and for FY18, $2.6 billion, just to pay for his proposed 2,000 mile wall along the southern border. Unfortunately, these huge amounts of money are only a drop in the bucket of funds needed to complete the entire wall project. Recent projections of the wall’s cost are as much as $21.6 billion, or $16 million per mile. Furthermore, there are already almost 20,000 border patrol agents and almost 8,000 enforcement and removal officers. The number of border patrol agents doubled and the number of Immigration Customs & Enforcement (ICE) agents tripled between FY 2003 and FY 2013. Nonetheless, Trump requested $300 million in supplemental funding for FY17 and another $314 million to begin the hiring process. Additionally, DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecuted almost 70,000 immigration cases in FY16, which is more than the total number of all federal criminal prosecutions combined, including drugs and firearms offenses. Despite the massive numbers of federal prosecutions involving immigration violations, Trump still wants to spend millions in additional funding to hire 60 more border enforcement prosecutors. Plus, if Trump receives the monies that he requested, the U.S. government will be spending over $4.5 billion on immigration enforcement alone. We are the deportation defense lawyers to whom you can turn if you or a loved one are facing deportation proceedings, no matter what the reason may be. Regardless of the complexity or difficulty of the situation, Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C. has the experience, knowledge, and skills to advocate on behalf of you and your family throughout the course of any deportation proceedings. Contact our office today and let us answer all of your questions about asylum proceedings, or any other aspect of deportation proceedings.