Democratic lawmakers said ICE is projected to run out of money in two months for detention beds, but Lyons said the agency is living within its means.
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- Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., said ICE’s goal of deporting 1 million people a year is unrealistic and sets the agency up for failure.
- Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE, said the agency wouldn’t run out of money because of anticipated transfers of funds from other agencies.
WASHINGTON – Democratic lawmakers clashed with the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over funding, deaths while in federal custody and information the agency shares with the public while in pursuit of one of President Donald Trump’s most high-profile second-term priorities.
Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security, accused the agency May 14 of spending funds it doesn’t have while still falling short of unrealistic deportation goals.
Congress has approved funding for 41,500 detention beds but ICE is detaining 52,000 people, which could lead the agency to running out of money within two months. Underwood called the goal of removing 1 million people per year an “incredibly risky strategy that sets you up for failure.”
“This administration is cashing checks it does not have to reach questionable goals it cannot meet,” Underwood said.
Todd Lyons, ICE’s acting director, denied the agency would run out of funding. Money could potentially be shifted from other agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Lyons said the agency’s goal is to have 60,000 detention beds after the anticipated shift in funding.
“ICE will not run out of money,” Lyons said.
Lawmakers seek access to ICE detention centers
Congressional oversight of ICE represented another conflict with the agency. Underwood and Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, each noted statutory language that allows lawmakers to inspect ICE detention facilities without prior announcement.
“You cannot accept federal funding and shut the door on oversight,” Underwood said.
A scuffle outside an ICE detention center in New Jersey on May 9 led to the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on a misdemeanor charge of trespassing. His arrest came as three House lawmakers – New Jersey Democratic Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver and Rob Menendez – made an unannounced visit to inspect the privately run center called Delaney Hall.
Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba earlier said in a social media post that Baraka trespassed and “ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself.”
Lyons said ICE staffers understand lawmakers can show up unannounced. But he asked lawmakers to provide identification and go through screening before entering the buildings.
“We have nothing to hide,” Lyons said. “ICE will be fully transparent.”
9 deaths in ICE custody
Congress has required ICE to publicly post information since 2018 when detainees die in custody. But Underwood and Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, each asked how many detainees had died since the Trump administration took office Jan. 20 because the public postings were delayed 90 days.
Escobar called overcrowding and treatment in detention centers “tantamount to human rights abuses.”
“What we’ve seen under the Trump administration should send chills down the spine of every American,” Escobar said.
Nine detainees died in custody, Lyons said. He pledged to post information about the deaths publicly on the agency’s website.
“We do conduct a thorough investigation of all of those,” Lyons said.
ICE focuses on ‘worst of the worst’: Lyons
The hearing comes at a time of heightened immigration enforcement, which has led to protests around the country.
Border crossings have slowed to a trickle. The White House touted 140,000 deportations during Trump’s first 100 days in office, although ICE reported removing about 57,000 during that period.
ICE has arrested 88,000 people this year, two-thirds of those since Trump was inaugurated, Lyons told lawmakers.
The agency’s goal is to remove 1.1 million while prioritizing those convicted of crimes, he said. But lawmakers acknowledged the challenges of finding undocumented immigrants and then detaining them before deportation.
“We’re still prioritizing the worst of the worst,” Lyons said.