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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's ICE Jacks Up Weapons Spending by 700%--Including 'Guided Missile Warheads'
https://www.commondreams.org/news/ice-weaponsTrumps ICE Jacks Up Weapons Spending by 700%Including Guided Missile Warheads
ICE was always going to be Trumps private military to deploy domestically against Americans, said one critic.
JULIA CONLEY
Oct 20, 2025
The $170 billion in new funding for immigration enforcement operations that the Republican Party included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this year led some to warn that the Trump administration was ramping up spending at anti-immigration agencies not just to fund its attacks on migrants, but to deploy federal forces against anyone it wanted to across US communities.
New reporting on Monday detailed just how much US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has spent on weaponry since President Donald Trump took officeweapons that have been purchased as the administration has turned federal agents on US cities such as Chicago and Portland, illustrating how the president is treating increasingly armed ICE officers as his private military, as one progressive critic said.
The agency spent $71,515,762 on small arms from January 20the day Trump began his second termthrough October 18.
The number dwarfs ICEs spending during the first Trump term, during which the agency spent about $8.4 million annually on small arms, and during President Joe Bidens administration.
The type of weaponry purchased by ICE also raised alarm Monday, with Legum reporting that while most of the agencys spending was on guns and armor, there have also been significant purchases of chemical weapons and guided missile warheads and explosive components.
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Trump's ICE Jacks Up Weapons Spending by 700%--Including 'Guided Missile Warheads' (Original Post)
cbabe
Tuesday
OP
The kind of thing Trump has the military doing in the Caribbean will be seen with vehicles in the US
muriel_volestrangler
Tuesday
#2
C_U_L8R
(48,352 posts)1. For what? Vaporizing children and their families?
The ICE clods truly dont need armaments to do their job. Why dont they spend their time getting proper warrants and court orders instead of loading up on bullshit weaponry.
muriel_volestrangler
(105,052 posts)2. The kind of thing Trump has the military doing in the Caribbean will be seen with vehicles in the US
Fire a missile at a group of people in a vehicle, say "they were illegal", and expect to get away with it - if necessary, claim they were "drug dealers" or something. Soros agents, something like that.