UUSJ has advocated for reduced funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, especially their detention and other enforcement activities, after several years of significant increases.  The FY22 budget proposal just out May 28 for all of DHS is $52 billion, unchanged from last year. That may seem disappointing but the truth is in the details.

Funding for the border wall is eliminated, while funding for other border control technology and facilities is substantial. FEMA and Cybersecurity agencies within DHS along with a civil liberties unit are appropriately funded, especially given poor emergency preparedness and serious hacking affecting the US economy in recent years.

We along with other activists were disappointed at the very minor reduction of detention beds (from 34,000 down to 32,500) projected in the ICE funding. When there are beds paid for in detention centers, there is incentive to fill them.  Projected deportations are unchanged from this fiscal year (over 167,000) even though the Biden administration has greatly narrowed enforcement guidelines.  If deportations do not increase, these funds could be reprogrammed to increase budgets for more rapid processing of asylum seekers and their release to alternative programs or to legal aid for minors and families.

The projected increase in immigration judges is also much needed, given the court backlog. Similarly, adding staff and funds to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (which normally is largely funded by fees it charges for green card and citizenship processing) is much needed to reduce the backlog generated by the prior administration’s delays and rejections of applications.  Funding for up to the full 125,000 refugees to be resettled in the US is also a welcome inclusion.  Confusion exists over the language about the budget for continued deputizing of state and local law enforcement partnerships (287g agreements), as Biden’s campaign promises were to end these because they undermine trust and cooperation at the local level. (partial source: Washington Post, 5/29/21).