Biden wants more money for ICE than Trump

Speaking Security Newsletter | Advisory Note for Organizers and Candidates, n°86 | 1 June 2021

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Situation

Biden’s budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2022 asks Congress for $52.17 billion for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Of that, $7.99 billion is for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

That’s an $18 million increase over enacted levels for this year (FY 2021). You could also say it’s a $312.2 million increase over the Trump-era average for ICE funding ($767.9 million). Or a $916 million increase over Trump’s first budget (FY 2018), or a $1.6 billion increase over Obama’s last budget (FY 2017). 

Why did I see DHS with a ~$90 billion budget elsewhere?

Probably because those figures referred to total budget authority. Unlike the $50-some billion number above which just counts discretionary spending, total budget authority counts discretionary spending, mandatory spending, associated fees, and crossover and transfer funds. Both are fine to use; it just depends on what you want to count.

Here’s a big overview through a total budget authority lens. It’s basically a Trump 2.0-style budget request.

^This image is pulled from the administration’s budget request.

Thanks for your time,

Stephen (@stephensemler; stephen@securityreform.org)

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