The One Big Beautiful Bill Makes Historic Investments in Border Security and Immigration Enforcement

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ACCELERATING BORDER SECURITY AND STRENGTHENING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS

INTRODUCTION

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) unlocks billions of dollars to accelerate border security and enhance immigration enforcement operations. These investments, totaling more than $170 billion for border and interior enforcement-related missions, span the breadth of agencies responsible for enforcing our immigration laws. This demonstrates an understanding that improving the capacity of just one agency will not help restore order to our immigration system if it creates bottlenecks in other parts of the system. The funding provided through the OBBB is particularly notable because, in nearly all cases, Congress has appropriated the funds for four years (through FY 2029). This provides law enforcement agencies with significant freedom and flexibility to execute their mission to secure the homeland without being plagued by the yearly upheavals and uncertainty that accompany the congressional appropriations process. Below is a summary of the major border security and immigration enforcement wins in the OBBB.

1. SECURE OUR BORDERS

While the Trump Administration has brought illegal border crossings to record lows, this cannot be maintained without major investments in manpower, infrastructure, technology, and other assets. The OBBB provides Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with the critical tools it needs to help ensure our borders remain secure. One important victory is the appropriation of long-term funding to build the wall along our southern border finally.

• Border Wall. The OBBB appropriates $46.550 billion to CBP for border wall construction, access roads, sensors, and other technology.
• CBP Facilities. The OBBB appropriates $5 billion for necessary expenses relating to the lease, acquisition, construction, design, or improvement of CBP facilities.
• Border Patrol Agents. The OBBB appropriates $4.1 billion to hire and train additional Border Patrol agents, Office of Field Operations officers, air and marine agents, rehired annuitants, and CBP support personnel.
• Screening and Vetting. The OBBB appropriates $6.168 billion to CBP to improve border surveillance and inspection equipment and to enhance the screening of all aliens entering or exiting the U.S.
• CBP Vehicles. The OBBB appropriates $855 million for the repair, lease, or acquisition of patrol units.

2. REMOVE ILLEGAL ALIENS

To deliver on President Trump’s promise, the removal of illegal aliens who came into the United States virtually unimpeded over the past four years, the OBBB provides Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with unprecedented resources to enforce our immigration laws and remove illegal aliens.

• Detention Space. The OBBB appropriates $45 billion to ICE to fund adult and family residential detention. It also authorizes families to be detained in residential facilities pending a decision on removal and provides that adult detention standards may be established in the sole discretion of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
• ICE Personnel, Assets, and Enforcement Capability. The OBBB appropriates almost $30 billion to ICE to :(1) hire and train additional ICE agents, attorneys, support staff, and retired ICE personnel; (2) transport aliens; (3) improve ICE facilities and technology; and (4) expand and facilitate 287(g) agreements.

3. SUPPORT STATE AND LOCAL COOPERATION

When state and local law enforcement agencies participate in federal immigration enforcement efforts, they act as force multipliers, dramatically enhancing the effectiveness of our federal agencies. The OBBB recognizes the importance of state and local cooperation by creating two new grant programs, one managed by DHS and the other managed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), to help state and local jurisdictions take part in federal immigration enforcement activities.

• State Border Security Reinforcement Fund. The OBBB appropriates $10 billion to DHS through FY 2034 to establish a “State Border Security Reinforcement Fund” to reimburse states for constructing border barriers, detecting and interdicting illegal aliens and drugs, and relocating illegal aliens within the U.S. Notably, this funding may be provided for qualifying activities that took place after January 2021.
• BIDEN Reimbursement Fund. The OBBB appropriates $3.5 billion to the DOJ through FY 2028 to create a fund, called the “Bridging Immigration-related Deficits Experienced Nationwide (BIDEN) Reimbursement Fund.” Grants from this fund will be given to states and local jurisdictions that assist in apprehending, prosecuting, transporting, and temporarily detaining criminal aliens.

4. STOP MALIGNED FOREIGN ACTORS FROM UNDERCUTTING AMERICAN WORKERS AND TAXPAYERS

Imposing consequences on those who violate our immigration laws is crucial. It maintains the integrity of our immigration system, improves public safety, and deters future illegal border crossings. In our immigration system, the DOJ plays an important role in delivering consequences for illegal aliens. The DOJ houses our immigration courts (the Executive Office of Immigration Review), and U.S. Attorneys prosecute criminal aliens, gang members, drug traffickers, and members of criminal organizations. The OBBB recognizes the need to fund the DOJ to ensure our immigration system functions as intended by appropriating $3.3 billion to hire immigration judges and prosecute criminal aliens.

Some of this money is also allocated toward the Byrne Grant program to help states prosecute crimes involving aliens. Restoring this provision helps alleviate law enforcement and adjudicatory costs for states enforcing immigration laws. The legislation also shifts certain adjudicatory costs associated with defending criminal illegal aliens from taxpayers to aliens. Further modification to foreign-derived income tax rates boosts protections for U.S. companies to keep intellectual property in the U.S. and also complements efforts to stop foreign ownership of vital American infrastructure assets.

5. ELIMINATE BENEFITS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS

President Trump has vowed to end the injustice of using taxpayer dollars to provide benefits to illegal aliens. In February 2025, he signed Executive Order 14218, which was designed to “prevent taxpayer resources from acting as a magnet and fueling illegal immigration to the United States, and to ensure, to the maximum extent permitted by law, that no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.” Through the passage of the OBBB, Congress has helped President Trump deliver on this policy goal by closing loopholes that allow illegal aliens to obtain benefits. The OBBB narrows the eligibility for Medicare, Medicaid, Affordable Care Act Premium Tax Credits, Additional Child Tax Credit, and food stamps to eliminate most categories of illegal aliens from eligibility.

• Medicaid, Medicare, SCHIP, and SNAP. The OBBB limits eligibility of Medicaid, Medicare, State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to: (1) citizens and nationals; (2) legal permanent residents (green card holders); (3) Cuban and Haitian entrants (parolees or asylum applicants with no legal status); and (4) lawfully residing aliens under the Compact of Free Association. This change eliminates eligibility for most parolees (except Cubans and Haitians), aliens with withholding of deportation, aliens eligible for conditional entry, and other categories of aliens.
• Affordable Care Act Premium Tax Credits. The OBBB limits eligibility for these tax credits to: (1) citizens and nationals; (2) legal permanent residents; (3) Cuban and Haitian entrants; and (4) lawfully residing aliens under the Compact of Free Association. This change eliminates eligibility for most parolees (except Cubans and Haitians), aliens with deferred action, aliens with deferred enforced departure, aliens with Temporary Protected Status, asylum applicants, and other categories of illegal aliens.
• Child Tax Credit. The OBBB generally limits eligibility for the Child Tax Credit to citizens. The OBBB provides that a taxpayer is eligible for the child tax credit if they list a Social Security number for themselves and their child; however, the Social Security numbers must be issued to citizens. If the taxpayer is married, only one spouse must provide such a Social Security number.
• Remittances. Imposes a new excise tax of 1% on remittances paid by cash, money orders, cashier’s checks, or similar physical instruments, but exempts credit/debit cards and other similar transfers.

CONCLUSION

The OBBB delivers on President Trump’s promises to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws. It secures funding for additional CBP and ICE personnel, detention space, immigration judges, screening and vetting, and invests heavily in cooperation with state and local governments. After four years of lawlessness at our southern border, these investments are long overdue and will help Americans restore the rule of law to our immigration system.