The Government Shutdown Won’t Stop Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Campaign

Pending an unexpected last minute deal, it appears that the federal government will shut down at midnight on Wednesday. Some federal agencies, as a result, are prepared to furlough their workers or scale back operations during an indefinite hiatus. But at least one area will remain largely unaffected: immigration enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

According to the DHS contingency plan released on Saturday, 95 percent of the agency’s employees—nearly 258,000 workers, which is 12,000 more people than the DHS employed in total ahead of the 2018 shutdown—are expected to remain on board in the event of a federal government shutdown. Of this total, 169,887 will be retained for actions “necessary to protect life and property,” including immigration enforcement. More than 93 percent of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees—over 63,000 and nearly 20,000 personnel, respectively—are expected to remain on the agency’s payroll through the shutdown.

The DHS is also expected to avoid the funding lapses that other agencies dependent on annual discretionary appropriations expect during a shutdown. This is thanks in large part to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a reconciliation bill that passed in July and appropriated $165 billion to the DHS—nearly doubling the agency’s budget. 

With an influx of money to the DHS, the Trump administration shows no plans of easing up on its mass deportation goals, even as other agencies temporarily cease operations. Most recently, federal immigration officers have targeted Chicago, netting almost 550 arrests during the first few weeks of September. Some of those arrests, however, have been challenged as unlawful, warrantless arrests.

The DHS crackdown in the Windy City, and elsewhere, has also been met with staunch public opposition. Over the weekend, protests against the increased immigration enforcement by armed, masked federal agents erupted into violence outside of one of the city’s ICE facilities. Meanwhile, Memphis, Tennessee, is expecting both National Guard troops and additional federal agents—including immigration officers—to begin arriving later this week. 

Since President Donald Trump took office, immigration arrests have soared. Between January and June of this year, ICE made roughly 109,000 immigration-related arrests, compared to 49,000 arrests made during that same period in 2024. The Trump administration has maintained an elevated number of immigrant detainees, and is currently detaining nearly 60,000 individuals. Although Trump and his administration officials have repeatedly claimed immigration arrests focus on “the worst of the worst” criminals, the majority of immigrant detainees have no prior criminal record or conviction.

There’s no telling how long a potential government shutdown may last. But with the White House using the funding lapse as an opportunity to cut the size of the government, there is a chance that taxpayers might see a more right-sized federal government once a budget deal is reached. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that the same kind of cuts will be made in regards to the DHS.