U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) estimates that implementing the proposed Laken Riley Act would cost close to $27 billion annually and would require a massive expansion of resources, including over 10,000 new agents, 7,000 attorneys, and 110,000 additional detention beds.
The new data, which comes from an internal ICE document obtained and verified by NPR, shatters estimates reported a week ago, which had placed the cost around $3.2 billion in additional funding for fiscal year 2025.
The document notes that a figure of $3.2 billion "has been shared widely as a cost estimate" but that number is incorrect because it "does not represent the full cost of implementation," explains the NPR report, citing ICE sources.
The bill in question says ICE can detain and deport noncitizens charged with or convicted of certain crimes such as burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, and assaulting law enforcement officers. The Senate voted 61-35 to advance the bill past a filibuster, with final approval expected soon. It is anticipated to pass the House and be signed into law by President-elect Donald Trump once he takes office on Monday.
The legislation is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student murdered by a Venezuelan immigrant in Georgia in 2024. Riley's case has been a rallying point for proponents, who argue the bill will enhance public safety by targeting undocumented individuals involved in criminal activity.
ICE, however, has raised concerns about the feasibility of enforcing the law. Besides the fact that the projected cost far exceed the agency's current $9 billion annual budget, detention capacity poses another challenge as it currently has funding for 41,500 detention beds. Additionally, ICE's existing workforce of approximately 6,000 enforcement and removal officers would need to more than double to handle the projected caseload.
As the leaked document explains in one passage, it "would be impossible for [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to execute within existing resources."
Supporters, including several Senate Democrats from swing states, argue the legislation addresses voters' concerns about immigration and border security. "Arizonans know better than most the real consequences of today's border crisis," said Democratic state senator Ruben Gallego in a post on X. "We must give law enforcement the means to take action to prevent tragedies like what occurred to Laken Riley."
Opponents, including civil rights groups, warn that it could lead to the detention of individuals based on accusations alone, bypassing judicial discretion and due process.
Anna Cabot, director of the University of Houston Law Center's Immigration Clinic told The Latin Times in a recent piece that the act "would require detention without a chance of bond for people who have merely been charged or arrested with these crimes or even 'who admits to having committed these crimes", making the opportunity ripe for "exacerbating the consequences of already extreme racial disparities in criminal arrests in the US."
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
