Trump officials confirms 9 deaths in ICE custody
By: Bart Jansen
USA Today
WASHIINGTON - Democratic lawmakers clashed with the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over funding, deaths in federal custody, and information the agency shares with the public while in pursuit of one of President Donald Trump's most high-profile second-term priorities. Illinois Representative Lauren Underwood, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security, accused the agency in a May 14 [2025] hearing of spending funds it doesn't have while still falling short of unrealistic deportation goals.
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Congress has approved funding for 41,500 detention beds but ICE is detaining 52,000 people, which could lead to the agency running out of money within two months. Underwood called the goal of removing 1 million proper per year an "incredibly risky strategy that sets you up for failure."
..... "This administration is cashing checks it does not have to reach questionable goals in cannot meet," Underwood said. Todd Lyons, ICE's acting director, denied the agency would run out of funding. Money could potentially be shifted form other agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Lyons said the agency's goal is to have 60,000 detention beds after the anticipated shift in funding. Congressional oversight of ICE represented another conflict with the agency. Underwood and Representative Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, each noted statutory language that allows lawmakers to inspect ICE detention facilitates without prior announcement.
..... "You cannot accept federal funding and shut the door on oversight," Underwood said. a scuffle outside an ICE detention center in New Jersey on May 9 [2025] led to the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on a misdemeanor charge of trespassing. His arrest came as three House lawmakers - New Jersey Democratic Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver and Rob Menendez - made an unannounced visit to inspect the privately run center called Delaney Hall. interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba earlier said in a social media post that Baraka trespassed and "ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself." Lyons said ICE staffers understand lawmakers can show up unannounced. But he asked lawmakers to provide identification and go through screening before entertaining the buildings.
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"We have nothing to hide," Lyons said. "ICE will be fully transparent."
..... The White House touted 140,000 deportations during Trump's first 100 days in office, although ICE reported removing about 57,000 during that period.
..... ICE has arrested 88,000 people this year, [2025] two-thirds of those since Trump was inaugurated, Lyons told lawmakers.
..... The agency's goal is to remove 1.1 million while prioritizing those convicted of crimes, he said. But lawmakers acknowledged the challenges of finding undocumented people and detaining them before deportation.