Immigration Highlights of the Week: Trump Keeps Up Immigration Pressure Despite ICE and CBP Setback
The Senate went into its Memorial Day recess without passing the measure that would provide an additional $70 billion for ICE and CBP through the reconciliation process, which allows for approval by a simple majority and thus without Democratic support. The House also recessed, as the Senate must consider the bill first.
It appears there are differences among Republicans on certain issues that have caused unease in some quarters. Among these is the $1.776 billion fund announced by the Department of Justice to “compensate” Trump allies who claim they were “persecuted” by the administration of Democrat Joe Biden.
The payments would be made with public funds, and among those allies are the insurrectionists from the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot who attacked Capitol and District of Columbia police officers and who, despite being convicted and imprisoned, were pardoned by Trump.
Another point of contention in the reconciliation measure has been funding for the Secret Service, amid fears that the money could be diverted to the controversial ballroom that Trump wants to build at the White House—a project he had previously said would be paid for with private funds. In fact, media reports indicate that those funds will be removed from the project.
Undocumented Immigrants’ Finances in Trump’s Crosshairs
The legislative controversy has in no way altered Trump’s campaign to crack down on undocumented immigrants and force them to self-deport.
La Opinión reported that “the Trump administration opened a new front in its immigration policy: the financial system.” “Through an executive order signed on May 19, 2026, the White House instructed the Department of the Treasury and regulatory agencies to tighten controls on bank accounts, loans, and transfers linked to immigrants without legal authorization to work in the United States.”
The newspaper adds that “although the order does not directly ban remittances, it does propose new financial surveillance rules that could change the way millions of immigrants send money to their families in Latin America.”
“For now, many of the measures must still go through regulatory processes before taking effect. However, the message is clear: the Trump administration seeks to turn the financial system into yet another tool for immigration control,” the newspaper concluded.
Trump also increases the number of judges to speed up deportations.
La Opinión also reported that “according to CBS News, 77 permanent immigration judges and five temporary judges were sworn in this week, amid pressure from the Republican administration to strengthen its policy of mass deportations.”
This is intended to restore the number of judges to 700, as some 100 had been dismissed for failing to authorize deportations at the expected pace.
The same CBS article notes that “while they’re part of the executive branch, immigration judges are expected to be neutral, and not show bias towards noncitizens or the Immigration and Customs Enforcement lawyers seeking their deportation. Still, the Trump administration has publicly referred to them as ‘deportation judges’ in official job listings, calling on potential applicants in one ad to ‘deliver justice’ to ‘criminal illegal aliens.’”
CBS added that “Greg Chen, senior director for government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, accused the Trump administration of seeking to ‘compel’ immigration judges to “act as tools of enforcement, not impartial adjudicators.”
The backlog of cases before immigration judges is estimated at 3.5 million.
They also propose increasing the fine for deportation orders issued in absentia to $18,000
La Opinión reported that “President Donald Trump’s administration is moving forward with a new plan to impose fines of up to $18,000 on immigrants with final deportation orders who are subsequently arrested by immigration authorities, in a measure that is part of the federal strategy to tighten immigration policy and promote self-deportation.”
“The proposal was published this week by DHS in the Federal Register and will remain open for public comment until June 22. The government seeks to raise the current fine of $5,130, established just last year, arguing that the amount no longer covers the actual costs of locating, detaining, and removing an immigrant,” the newspaper reported.
145,000 children have been separated from their parents, a report reveals
An analysis by the Brookings Institution found that since Trump began his second term, 400,000 immigrants have been detained within the country. This has affected some 200,000 children who have lost at least one parent in the process. “Our analysis suggests that more than 145,000 U.S. citizen children have likely experienced a parent booked into detention since the administration began, with more than 22,000 of those experiencing detention of all their co-resident parents,” the analysis states.
La Opinión reported that “the investigation warns that the federal government does not have a clear system for tracking what happens to minors after their parents are arrested by agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.”
Meanwhile, a contrasting initiative emerges: Trump wants to admit 10,000 white South African refugees, Afrikaners, who claim to be discriminated against
According to La Opinión, “the State Department sent an emergency notification to Congress with the aim of raising the cap on the number of refugees to be admitted this fiscal year to 17,500, more than half of whom would be South Africans fleeing discrimination because they are white.”
“U.S. authorities estimate that admitting these individuals would cost nearly $100 million in public funds,” the newspaper added.
“According to information released by the State Department, between October 2025 and last month, the Trump administration had resettled 6,069 refugees, of whom 6,066 came from South Africa and the remainder from Afghanistan.”
The South African government denies accusations of discrimination and land confiscation against white Africans.
Quotes of the week:
The reaction of two Republican senators, one to Trump’s plan to secure $1 billion within the ICE and CBP budget for his ballroom, which appears to have been left out of the measure:
“People can’t afford to buy food, gas, or healthcare, and we’re going to spend a billion dollars on a ballroom?” declared Bill Cassidy, Republican Senator from Louisiana.
And another on the announcement of a fund to “compensate” Trump allies who claim to have been “persecuted” by the Biden administration, including the insurrectionists from January 6, 2021:
“So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong – Take your pick,” said Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell.