As U.S. immigration policy has evolved over the past decade, border enforcement agencies have received increasing funding and political support despite continuing public debate and controversy over immigration enforcement.
In January 2017, President Donald Trump faced the challenge of turning a campaign promise into policy after pledging to build a border wall “from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.” The proposal was met with considerable skepticism, even among some of his allies. Brad Jones, a political science professor at UC Davis, said “it was incredibly unpopular except with MAGA diehards.”
Although Trump had claimed Mexico would pay for the wall, he ultimately sought funding from Congress. The dispute contributed to a 35-day federal government shutdown.
Nearly nine years later, about 450 miles of border wall have been built, although that remains only a fraction of what Trump originally promised. The wall also has done little to stop migrants from attempting to cross the border. However, it has had some of its intended effect, as Border Patrol officers use the term “wall falls” to describe people who have died attempting to climb the barrier.
Many people believed the wall would be dismantled after Democrats took control of the White House, but construction continued after a brief pause during the Biden administration. Work resumed where the Trump administration had left off. Jones said, “The wall became the new normal; I don’t see it going away.”
Trump’s border plan highlights the broader issue of political ideas that initially appear unrealistic becoming accepted over time. Jones cited the Secure America Act as another example, noting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement received $70 billion through the Department of Homeland Security. That marked the highest level of funding for immigration enforcement, reversing much of the momentum behind ongoing protests and contributing to heightened tensions over immigration.
Because Democrats did not support the funding package for ICE or U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Republicans used the budget reconciliation process, allowing them to bypass the threat of a Senate filibuster. “It’s a lot of money with little, if any, accountability,” said Adriel Orozco, senior policy counsel at the American Immigration Council.
The GOP bill does not prohibit immigration officers from wearing masks or conducting raids without judicial warrants, restrictions that Democrats had sought to impose. It also does not prevent immigration officers from conducting enforcement actions at sensitive locations such as churches or schools.
Despite protests in cities across the country, public response to the bill has been relatively muted. “The challenge is keeping public attention on an agency that increasingly operates out of the spotlight,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said. Since the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the Trump administration has recognized that maintaining a lower public profile allows it to avoid greater scrutiny over alleged abuses.
Trump’s political opponents have sought to raise awareness about what they describe as the bill’s unprecedented dangers, focusing primarily on its economic consequences. “Minnesotans were forced to bear not only the human cost but also the financial burden of this reckless operation, which cost the City of Minneapolis $700 million,” Omar said. Shontel Brown, a representative from Ohio.
Since the 2010s, public discussion has increasingly focused on police killings of Black people. Many activists and politicians moved to align their political agendas with calls for reform, yet historically, enforcement agencies have continued to receive increased funding rather than significant structural reforms.
Today, killings of civilians are largely invisible to the public, even though they continue to occur at similar rates. Meanwhile, many enforcement agencies continue to gain power through political systems, creating lasting effects for many people.
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