Trump's ICE Jacks Up Weapons Spending by 700%--Including 'Guided Missile Warheads'

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https://www.commondreams.org/news/ice-weapons

Trump’s ICE Jacks Up Weapons Spending by 700%—Including ‘Guided Missile Warheads’

“ICE was always going to be Trump’s 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 office—weapons 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.

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The agency spent $71,515,762 on small arms from January 20—the day Trump began his second term—through October 18.

The number dwarfs ICE’s spending during the first Trump term, during which the agency spent about $8.4 million annually on small arms, and during President Joe Biden’s administration.

The type of weaponry purchased by ICE also raised alarm Monday, with Legum reporting that while most of the agency’s 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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