From his first day in office, President Biden has called on Congress to act to address our broken immigration system. Over the past three years, while waiting for Congress to act, the Administration has taken important steps to secure our border. The President has secured more resources for border security than any President before him, and in October he requested even more funding to secure the border, build capacity to enforce immigration law, and counter illicit fentanyl. The Administration has deployed the most agents and officers ever to address the situation at the southwest border, seized record levels of illicit fentanyl at our ports of entry, and brought together world leaders on a framework to deal with changing migration patterns that are impacting the entire Western Hemisphere.
Just recently, the President led the way on achieving a bipartisan agreement for the toughest, fairest border reform legislation in decades. The President and his team reached a historic bipartisan agreement with Senate Democrats and Republicans on border policy reforms and funding in February that would provide a fairer and more efficient process for asylum claims. The agreement also provides for emergency authority for the President to shut down the border when the system is overwhelmed, additional immigrant visas for families and workers, expedited work permits for those already here, and significant funding for more immigration judges, asylum officers, and Border Patrol agents and officers to secure the border and combat illicit fentanyl. Congressional Republicans should stop stonewalling this historic deal and work to send the legislation to the President’s desk.
The President’s Budget builds on these measures by ensuring adequate base resources for border enforcement, while continuing to reiterate the need for Congress to pass legislation and provide meaningful reforms and supplemental funding to secure the border. The Budget includes a $1.9 billion (7 percent) base budget increase for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as funds to expand and improve the immigration courts, address the root causes of migration, and combat illicit fentanyl trafficking. The President’s FY25 Budget:
Reiterates the Administration’s Request for Immediate Funding to Secure the Border, Build Capacity to Enforce Immigration Law, and Counter Illicit Fentanyl. In October 2023, the Administration transmitted an emergency supplemental request to Congress for the southwest border and migration issues totaling $13.6 billion. The Budget includes, and therefore reiterates the need for, the unmet needs from the October supplemental request. In addition to urgent requirements, the request includes investments to build longer-term capacity in the areas of border security, immigration enforcement, and countering illicit fentanyl, totaling $4.3 billion for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). This amount includes $405 million to hire 1,300 additional Border Patrol Agents to secure the border, $239 million to hire 1,000 additional CBP Officers to stop illicit fentanyl and other contraband from entering the U.S., $755 million to hire an additional 1,600 Asylum Officers and support staff to facilitate timely immigration dispositions, $100 million for Homeland Security Investigations to investigate and disrupt transnational criminal organizations and drug traffickers, $1.3 billion for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to fund the hiring of 375 new immigration judge teams to help reduce the immigration case backlog, and $849 million for cutting-edge detection technology at ports of entry. Taken together, these long-term capacity building investments equip the Nation’s border security and immigration system to more effectively respond to challenges present along the border. In addition, the Administration appreciates the Senate’s bipartisan border legislation that would make additional investments in DHS and provide authorities to bolster the Department’s efforts to secure and manage the border.
Continues to Invest in Critical Capabilities Needed for Border and Immigration Enforcement. Strengthening border security and providing safe, lawful pathways for migration remain top priorities for the Administration. The Budget builds on the Administration’s October supplemental request to include an additional $25.9 billion for CBP and ICE, an increase of $1.9 billion over the 2023 enacted level when controlling for border management amounts. The Budget includes funds for CBP to hire an additional 350 Border Patrol Agents and 310 processing coordinators, $127 million for border security technology between ports of entry, and $86 million in air and maritime operational support that is central to efforts to secure the border. The Budget also includes funds to support 34,000 ICE immigration detention beds; $225 million to address increased transportation and removal costs; and $34 million to combat child exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking.
Enables Access to Resources to Scale Border Enforcement Capacity for Conditions on the Southwest Border. Given the uncertainty surrounding border conditions in any given year, the Budget proposes a $4.7 billion contingency fund to aid the Department and its components when responding to migration surges along the Southwest border. Modeled on a contingency fund provided for unaccompanied children, each fiscal year, the fund would receive appropriations incrementally and above the base appropriation as Southwest border encounters reach pre-identified levels. DHS could use these funds for surge-related functions only, and would transfer funds to CBP, ICE, and FEMA accounts when appropriate conditions are met.
Supports America’s Promise to Resettle Refugees and Care for Unaccompanied Children. The Budget builds on the Administration’s October supplemental request and provides an additional $9.3 billion for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to help rebuild the Nation’s refugee resettlement infrastructure and support the resettling of up to 125,000 refugees in 2025. The Budget also helps ensure that unaccompanied immigrant children receive appropriate support and services while they are in ORR’s care and are unified with relatives and sponsors as safely and quickly as possible. This funding would allow ORR to continue the programmatic improvements the Administration has made, including expanding access to counsel to help children navigate complex immigration court proceedings and enhancing case management and post-release services. In addition, the Budget includes an emergency contingency fund that would provide additional resources, beyond the $9.3 billion, when there are unanticipated increases in the number of unaccompanied children.
Improves Immigration Courts. The Budget builds on the Administration’s October supplemental request and invests $981 million, an increase of $121 million above the 2023 enacted level, in the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to enhance America’s immigration courts and help address the backlog of over 2.4 million currently pending cases. This funding supports 25 new immigration judge teams, which includes the support personnel necessary to ensure efficient case processing. The Budget also invests $30 million for EOIR to partner to with the U.S. Digital Service to develop and implement digital court operations strategies that will maximize each judge’s adjudicatory capacity and help reduce the case backlog.
Addresses the Root Causes of Migration. The Budget provides approximately $1 billion for Central American programming to meet the President’s commitment to invest $4 billion in Central America over four years to address the root causes of migration. The Budget also supports hemispheric programs to advance economic prosperity and regional security through key initiatives such as the America’s Partnership for Economic Prosperity, including $75 million for a capital increase to the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB Invest) to advance clean energy projects, modernize agriculture, strengthen transportation systems, and expand access to financing. The Budget further reserves $35 million in additional targeted funding for regional migration management, including $25 million for the IDB’s Migration Grant Facility to support integration efforts for migrants and host communities and address the root causes of irregular migration.
Combats Narcotics Trafficking Networks and Secures the Border and Our Communities. The Budget allocates $6.6 billion for DHS to invest in its counternarcotics efforts, including $4.5 billion for drug-related resources associated with border security, immigration enforcement, and countering illicit fentanyl. Additionally, the Administration remains committed to providing law enforcement with the resources and necessary personnel to defend our borders from illicit drug trade by reiterating the October 2023 emergency supplemental request for an additional $849 million for cutting edge drug detection technology at the border, $239 million for 1,000 additional CBP officers, $100 million to expand Homeland Security Investigations’ capacity for counter-fentanyl investigations and enforcement, and $14 million for additional research and development of narcotics detection and forensics, for a total supplemental request for DHS of $1.2 billion. These resources are critical to the fight against illicit opioids.
The Budget also provides $2.3 billion to the Department of Justice to combat opioid trafficking and reduce the supply and demand of deadly illicit fentanyl in American communities, including $1.2 billion for the Drug Enforcement Administration, $367 million for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, and $61 million for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This also includes an additional $18 million in Counter-Fentanyl Threat Targeting Teams at the DEA to enhance America’s fight against the transnational criminal networks pushing deadly illicit fentanyl. These interdisciplinary teams of special agents, intelligence analysts, and data experts will map criminal organizations and build cases that lead to the dismantlement of entire drug trafficking networks and the deprivation of hundreds of millions of dollars to the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels. This also includes $494 million in grants supporting efforts to address opioid use and trafficking, including $190 million for the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program, $95 million to support Drug Courts, and $51 million for anti-drug task forces.The Budget further invests $290 million in the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program to provide state and local law enforcement with resources to combat the most dangerous illicit drug threats in their communities. The Budget further includes $1.1 billion for the Department of Defense to support security cooperation efforts with partner nations; counterdrug operations, detection and monitoring efforts in support of drug interdiction operations; and treatment, recovery, and education efforts.
Disrupts the International Synthetic Drug Trade. The Budget includes $169 million across State and USAID to counter illicit fentanyl and other synthetic drug production and trafficking, 58 percent above 2023 estimated levels. These resources would counter the worldwide flow of fentanyl and other synthetics that endanger public safety and health, and contribute to tens of thousands of drug-overdose deaths in the United States annually.
Combats Corruption and Increases Corporate Transparency. Treasury plays a leading role in monitoring and disrupting corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing, the use of the financial system by malicious actors domestically and abroad, and combatting the trafficking of illicit substances such as fentanyl in American communities. The Budget provides $216 million for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, $26 million above the 2023 level, to support Beneficial Ownership Information reporting which will be required for existing covered companies beginning in 2025. This reporting will provide investigative tools making it harder for bad actors—including major narcotics traffickers—to hide or benefit from their ill-gotten gains through shell companies or other opaque ownership structures.
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