Staff Reports
President Trump is rolling up his sleeves and preparing for a massive deportation effort, as his administration scrambles to establish the necessary infrastructure to remove millions of undocumented immigrants from the United States. As Congress deliberates, the administration’s ambitious plans to round up as many as 20 million individuals hinge on securing essential funding—an endeavor likely to be more complicated than untangling their own Christmas lights.
Initial reports from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) indicated that the agency was set to reach nearly one million arrests by the end of Trump’s next four years. But as enthusiasm for deportation mounts, actual performance has stalled under the weight of overwhelming numbers. With current infrastructure barely capable of handling the influx of new cases, the administration is seeking to ramp up arrests and detention capacities. Trump has recently suggested that he doesn’t care about the budget for this operation, making one wonder if he is secretly hoping for a mythical land grant somewhere for each deportee.
Further complicating matters, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made a visit to the infamous Guantanamo Bay to explore its potential as a holding facility for deportees. Current plans envision expanding Gitmo’s capacity to accommodate at least 30,000 individuals, which is an extravagant and terrifying twist for a place primarily known for housing terrorists. Though past efforts to set up tent cities for detainees have been scrapped for not meeting efficiency standards, Hegseth’s trip has raised eyebrows as he gushed about potential deportations to the friendly faces of Fox News personalities, effectively turning it into a PR tour.
While the Trump administration is working hard to handle logistics, private contractors are already seeing dollar signs. A group of military contractors, including Erik Prince of Blackwater fame, proposes a $25 billion project to deport up to 12 million immigrants by the 2026 midterms. This plan suggests that the government might need outside help just to keep pace with Trump’s fiery deportation agenda. One can’t help but question whether hiring private firms might lead to a ‘deportation gold rush’ reminiscent of the gold fever days—virtually anything to lure Democrats away from their insistence on “open borders.”
Trump scrambles to build deportation apparatus as Congress moves to fund it https://t.co/544eZ6Xjzm
— Just the News (@JustTheNews) March 3, 2025
As the House voted on a budget resolution aimed at funding Trump’s ambitious border security and tax priorities, uncharacteristic unity among Republicans was lacking. With a razor-thin margin in the House, Trump’s backing might not be enough to keep everyone in line. Nonetheless, he continues to push for comprehensive action on border security, as evidenced by the passage of the budget plan with just a two-vote margin. The Senate, on the other hand, has already floated a budget proposal passing hundreds of billions to support deportation efforts, but navigating the reconciliation process promises to be akin to herding cats on a roller coaster.
In a rather ironic twist, it appears that the sheer terror of Trump’s return to the Oval Office has led to a decline in illegal crossings, with reports indicating a staggering 94% drop in encounters at the southern border. Many potential migrants are reportedly choosing self-deportation over facing the prospect of arrest under Trump. Whether this trend will continue or reach the desired levels remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the administration is eagerly pursuing every avenue to make America’s borders great again. One can only imagine what fantastic stories will emerge next as the plans unfold amidst deep political divisions and ambitious goals.
