‘Beyond Shock and Awe’ – US Immigration Policy Under Trump 2.0

By Roxsy Lin

A glance at immigration-related headlines from Feb 26:

·       A blind Rohingya refugee found dead in Buffalo after being stranded by federal immigration agents.

·       A student at Columbia University dragged from her dorm after ICE agents lied their way into the building.

·       The for-profit operators of a migrant detention facility in Pennsylvania falsified records in the death of a detainee.

·       Even as the Trump Administration moves aggressively to expand detention capacity nationwide.

Not exhaustive by any stretch, yet the above paints an alarming portrait of the extremes to which the Trump Administration has transformed U.S. immigration policy in just its first year.

Those changes are detailed in a recent report by the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute, which notes the administration has “dramatically reshaped the machinery of government” to target both unauthorized as well as legal immigrants in the country.

The shift poses lasting ramifications for society, the economy and U.S. foreign policy, the authors write.  

Colossal budget

Starting in July of 2025, Congress approved $170 billion to boost Department of Homeland Security (DHS) law enforcement activities. The move increased ICE’s budget to $85 billion over the next five years, making it the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the country.

Along with a colossal budget DHS has stepped up recruitment efforts, hiring over 12,000 new officers and agents in 2025.

Numerous concerns have been raised, meanwhile, over a lack of training and preparedness of these new recruits. On Feb. 23 a former DHS staffer told Congress ICE training was “defective,” and that the agency will graduate “thousands of new officers who do not know their constitutional duty.”

DHS has also pulled manpower from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the U.S. Marshals Service in support of its immigration enforcement operations.

Human rights advocates as well as lawmakers say such steps pose grave risks for both national and public security.

Privacy concerns

Many of these agencies have also been directed to share U.S. residents’ personal data, ranging from Social Security records, to Medicaid usage, and veterans’ benefits, according to MPI. DHS is also reportedly buying data from private brokers, including credit card and air travel records.

According to the authors, ICE has broadened its contract with the controversial software company Palantir to build ImmigrationOS. The “mega database” is designed to identify removable noncitizens, track “self-deportations,” and help coordinate detention and removals using data from multiple government agencies and “external sources” that are not identified.

ICE has furthermore allocated $280 million in contracts for private investigators and bounty hunters to verify suspected noncitizens’ addresses, workplaces, and movement patterns. Meanwhile, field agents have been equipped with status-checking tools like iris scanners, facial recognition, and license plate readers, “which have been reportedly used on noncitizens and U.S. citizens alike.”

The element of fear

“We do believe that fear is an important element of this administration,” said MPI Senior Fellow Muzaffar Chishti, speaking during a recent virtual briefing on the report’s findings. Chishti co-authored the report alongside MPI Policy Analyst Kathleen Bush-Joseph, and MPI Associate Policy Analyst Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh.

MPI estimated that by mid 2023, 13.7 million unauthorized migrants were living in the country. From January 20 to December 10, 2025, ICE arrests rose to roughly 1,200 per day. Combined with arrests by CBP and other federal agents, total noncitizen arrests surpassed 595,000.

Over the same period, the review found that ICE detention numbers expanded, rising from an average daily population of about 39,000 when Trump returned to office to nearly 70,000 by January 7, 2026.

Despite the government’s push to prioritize “the worst of the worst,” the text noted that as of January 7, only 26% of people in ICE detention had a criminal conviction. Another 26% had a pending criminal charge, while 48% were held on an immigration-related charge.

“If you look at the profile of people detained, it’s obviously not the worst of the worst,” said Chishti.

Co-opting law enforcement

The administration has also targeted so-called “sanctuary cities” where local law enforcement is prohibited from aiding federal immigration agents, threatening to withhold congressionally approved funding in exchange for cooperation with DHS.

As of August of last year the DOJ had filed suit against 15 such jurisdictions. It also released a list of 35 jurisdictions, suggesting further possible litigation.

According to the researchers, by January 2026, 1,313 state and local law enforcement agencies across the nation had signed 287(g) agreements, up from 135 agreements at the end of FY 2024. The agreements “deputize their staff to assist with immigration functions.”

As of September 2025, more than 8,500 state and local officers had been trained under these agreements. Through these contracts, local police, sheriff departments, and tribal law enforcement can perform “the arrest and removal of aliens.”

To promote participation, ICE provides financial assistance, such as covering the salaries of officers involved in immigration enforcement. In September, ICE granted almost $39 million to 287(g) partners in Florida, the authors found.

Over half of the agreements (718) employ the task force model, allowing officers “to question and arrest noncitizens for immigration reasons in the course of normal police work.” The model has not been in use since 2012 due to reports of racial profiling.

Who belongs and who doesn’t

The analysis highlights that the administration limited or banned immigration from 39 countries, predominantly from Africa, and launched a brutal campaign against established immigrant communities. At the same time, it introduced a “Trump gold card” program, allowing beneficiaries to pay $1 million for a fast track to legal residency.

The administration has also sought to increase immigration from countries like Norway, Sweden, and South Africa, going so far as creating a program to grant refugee status to white South African farmers.

The reviewers observed that in fall 2025, universities experienced a 17% drop in new foreign student enrollments. This decline followed the cancellation of thousands of international students’ visas, often due to their political speech or past police interactions.

Support from the highest court

The administration is leaning on executive orders instead of working through Congress: by January 7, Trump had signed 38 immigration-related orders, close to 17% of the 225 issued in his first year and more than the 220 from his entire first term, the Institute indicates.

It also notes the Supreme Court has increasingly used its emergency docket to let disputed immigration policies move forward, including ending temporary protections for nearly 1 million people from Venezuela and Haiti. Immigration accounted for 10 of the Court’s 28 emergency decisions in the 2024–25 term.

“What is undeniable is that the first year of Trump 2.0 has ushered in some of the most profound immigration policy changes in modern history, and the administration has three years ahead to deepen its impact,” wrote the reviewers. “It remains to be seen if these changes will represent a temporary detour or a foundational shift in the country’s future.”