OBBB dramatically expands ICE

Written By H. Pike Oliver

Here's a breakdown of what’s in OBBB (One Big Beautiful Bill) for ICE:

Total ICE Funding Increase: Nearly $75 billion through FY2029

This is in addition to ICE’s annual base budget, which is approximately $10.4 billion for fiscal year 2025.

$45 billion for Detention Capacity

  • Earmarked for expanding single adult alien detention and family residential centers

  • Funds available through September 30, 2029

  • Would allow ICE to more than double its current detention capacity—from ~59,000 to potentially over 116,000 beds.

$29.85 billion for Enforcement Operations

  • Covers hiring, training, and retaining ICE officers

  • Funds legal staff, victim support offices, and fleet modernization

  • Includes provisions to “promote family unity” by detaining parents and children together.

Context & Scale

  • ICE’s current annual detention budget is ~$3.4 billion. The OBBB’s $45 billion allocation is 13 times that amount

  • The total ICE funding in the bill exceeds the entire annual military budgets of countries like Israel, Italy, and Brazil

  • The bill would make ICE the largest federal law enforcement agency in U.S. history.

H. Pike Oliver

H. Pike Oliver focuses on master-planned communities. He is co-author of Transforming the Irvine Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson, and THE BIG PLAN, published by Routledge in 2022.

Early in his career, Pike worked for public agencies, including the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research, where he was a principal contributor to An Urban Strategy for California. For the next three decades, he was involved in master-planned development on the Irvine Ranch in Southern California, as well as other properties in western North America and abroad.

Beginning in 2009, Pike taught real estate development at Cornell University and directed the undergraduate program in Urban and Regional Studies. He relocated to Seattle in 2013 and, from 2016 to 2020, served as a lecturer in the Runstad Department of Real Estate at the University of Washington, where he also served as its chair.

Pike graduated from San Francisco State University's urban studies and planning program and received a master's degree in urban planning from UCLA. He is a member of the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute and a founder and emeritus member of the California Planning Roundtable.

https://urbanexus.com
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