More agents. More raids. More detention centers. Even as public support slips, Trump is preparing to go bigger in 2026.
President Donald Trump is preparing to dramatically expand his immigration enforcement campaign in 2026, committing billions of dollars to intensified raids, workplace enforcement, and mass detention—even as political backlash builds ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Under a sweeping funding package passed by the Republican-controlled Congress in July, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol will receive an additional $170 billion through September 2029, a historic increase over their combined annual budgets of roughly $19 billion.
Administration officials say the money will fund thousands of new agents, expanded detention facilities, and partnerships with private firms to track and arrest immigrants without legal status.
The next phase of enforcement is expected to reach deeper into American life. While federal agents have already surged into major cities this year—clashing with residents and conducting high-profile neighborhood operations—they largely avoided large-scale raids on farms, factories, and other businesses reliant on immigrant labor. That restraint is set to end. Officials confirmed that workplace enforcement will become a central focus in 2026.
The expansion comes as signs of political resistance mount. In Miami, one of the cities most affected by the crackdown, voters elected their first Democratic mayor in nearly 30 years last week. The mayor-elect cited, in part, voter frustration with aggressive federal enforcement. National polling also shows declining support: Trump’s approval on immigration has fallen from 50% in March to 41% by mid-December, once his strongest issue.
“People are beginning to see this not just as immigration enforcement, but as violations of rights and due process,” said Mike Madrid, a Republican political strategist. “That’s becoming a real problem for Republicans.”
Public unease has intensified amid reports of masked federal agents using tear gas in residential neighborhoods, detaining U.S. citizens, and arresting individuals with no criminal records beyond immigration violations. Government data shows that about 41% of the 54,000 people detained by ICE by late November had no criminal history—far higher than in previous administrations.
Despite the backlash, the White House remains unapologetic. Border czar Tom Homan said deportation numbers would “explode” next year as staffing and detention capacity increase. Since January, roughly 622,000 immigrants have been deported, as Trump pushes toward an ambitious—and likely unattainable—goal of removing 1 million people annually.
The administration has also stripped hundreds of thousands of Haitians, Venezuelans, and Afghans of temporary legal protections, widened arrests at green card interviews, revoked student visas, and even pulled individuals from naturalization ceremonies moments before citizenship.
Business leaders, long reluctant to confront the administration, may soon be forced to respond. Workplace raids could disrupt supply chains, raise labor costs, and undermine Trump’s efforts to curb inflation—an issue expected to loom large in the 2026 elections. “It will be telling whether businesses finally push back,” said Sarah Pierce of the Third Way think tank.
Immigration hardliners argue the crackdown has not gone far enough. “Eventually you have to go after the employers,” said Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports lower immigration levels.
As Trump presses ahead, the strategy reflects a familiar calculation: doubling down on enforcement even as political costs rise. Whether the expanded crackdown strengthens his standing—or accelerates voter backlash—may help decide control of Congress next year.
