Congress starts budget reconciliation process

The House Budget Committee, chaired by Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), approved a budget resolution last night that officially starts the budget reconciliation process. The House version includes border security, defense, energy policy, and all the various tax cuts on which President Trump campaigned. The resolution essentially designates $110 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement for interior enforcement and $90 billion for Customs and Border Protection for border security. The Trump Administration badly needs $200 billion for the Department of Homeland Security for immigration enforcement. Just this week, Russ Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, told Senators that $175 billion was needed “immediately.”

The Senate Budget Committee, chaired by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), has its own reconciliation resolution, which was marked up by the committee this week. This Senate version only focuses on border security, energy policy, and defense, and leaves tax cuts for a later bill. It would provide DHS $175 billion for immigration enforcement. Republicans in both chambers will need to agree on and approve a final resolution before the committees can work on the larger budget reconciliation bill.

Congress can pass a budget reconciliation bill each fiscal year if they pass a budget. The legislation must pertain to budgetary matters, but it only needs a simple majority to pass in the Senate, rather than the 60-vote threshold needed for most other legislation.

Also in the House, Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) introduced the No Asylum for Criminals Act, H.R. 1312. The legislation denies asylum to aliens who have been convicted of a crime in their home country. The bill had eight original cosponsors and is supported by the Immigration Accountability Project.

The House continues to process smaller messaging bills on immigration. The latest, the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act, by Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R, AZ-06), is focused on discouraging individuals from fleeing from Border Patrol agents.

The House of Representatives is out next week, but the Senate is in and is scheduled to take up Sen. Graham’s budget reconciliation bill.

Immigration News

ICE makes staggering 11K illegal migrant arrests in just 18 days — forcing agency to take over four federal prisons
Though the daily statistics on arrests by ICE are no longer publicly posted, late last week, Jennie Taer at the New York Post reported that ICE managed to arrest 11,000 illegal aliens over the first 18 days of the Trump Administration. To put that in perspective, ICE arrested 33,000 for the entire last year of the Biden Administration. The media is already attempting to spin the numbers as “lagging” Biden’s through a creative bit of deception: They’re adding ICE arrests, which occur in the interior, to CBP arrests, which occur at the border. Of course, as border crossings have plummeted, CBP would naturally be arresting fewer illegal aliens trying to enter. More on that below.

Daily average of known gotaways at southern border plummets, down 93% from Biden administration highs
Open-borders advocates have often argued that enforcement of immigration law somehow increases illegal immigration, though the opposite should be evident. Hopefully, the last few weeks of robust immigration enforcement can put that to rest. Fox News is reporting on a dramatic decrease in “known gotaways,” or aliens that CBP knows crossed the border illegally but weren’t apprehended. In addition, illegal alien encounters with CBP were down to 1,041 a day in the first week of the Trump administration, and we’ve seen reports that those numbers continue to plummet.

Trump’s border security success turns migrant stream southward; illegals head back home
In another positive sign, in response to the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, we’re hearing reports of small caravans heading south instead of north. In this article, Stephen Dinan of the Washington Times provides a glimpse at a reverse border surge.

New January Data Still Shows Most Job Growth Going to Immigrants; 88% since 2020, 72% in the last year
It’s important to remember that while the border crisis has been largely stamped out and interior enforcement has begun again, our immigration system is still a massive problem. Steve Camarota at the Center for Immigration Studies reviewed the January 2025 household survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unfortunately, 72% of the job growth in the last year went to immigrants. When you look at the growth since 2020, that number is 88%. The Biden Administration’s abuse of parole and TPS certainly didn’t help, as they handed out work authorizations like candy, but another major issue is our legal immigration system. The immigration system, as a whole, is in desperate need of reform.

Attorney General Pam Bondi rails against New York leaders as she announces immigration lawsuit
Recently confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi has hit the ground running on immigration. The latest news was her announced lawsuit against New York Governor Kathy Hochul, state AG Letitia James, and state DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder for New York’s “Green Light Law,” which allows illegal aliens to get driver’s licenses. A provision of that law requires New York’s DMV to inform illegal aliens when federal immigration officers request their information, effectively giving them a heads-up that enforcement is on its way. Governor Hochul seems committed to protecting illegal aliens over the citizens of New York as she has committed to fight the lawsuit while defending illegal aliens she calls “law-abiding individuals who want to work, pay taxes and contribute to our communities.”

HHS splurged more than $22B on grants for migrants — including cash for cars, home loans and startups
Finally, as the new administration gets up and running, the true scope of the upending of immigration policy continues to be revealed. This week, Josh Christenson of the New York Post reported on the absurd amount of taxpayer money the Department of Health and Human Services spent to pay for the border crisis. With an overall bill of $22 billion dollars, “[n]on-governmental groups bilked taxpayers for up to $1.7 billion in services including dollar-for-dollar matching savings plans for cars, homes, college educations or startups; small-business loans of up to $15,000; loans to repair credit history of up to $1,500; ‘cultural orientation,’ ‘emergency housing support,’ legal assistance and Medicaid care.” Unbelievable.