ICE Spending on Firearms and Tactical Gear Surged 700% After Trump Took Office

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) increased its spending on weapons by more than 700% this year, according to a new analysis of federal contracting data by Popular Information.

Records from the Federal Procurement Data System show the agency spent over $71 million on "small arms, ordnance, and ordnance accessories manufacturing" between January 20 and October 18—compared to just $9.7 million during the same period last year.

The surge in spending, which includes purchases of guns, body armor, chemical weapons, and even "guided missile warheads and explosive components," marks the largest increase in ICE's history, said Popular Information. By comparison, annual small-arms spending during Trump's first term averaged $8.4 million. One recent contract shows a $9.1 million purchase from Geissele Automatics, a manufacturer of semi-automatic and automatic rifles.

"The data likely understates new spending on weaponry deployed in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, since many other federal agencies beyond ICE have been involved," says the article. "But it provides a window into how ICE and other agencies are bringing an unprecedented number of high-powered weapons into American cities."

The escalation coincides with a wave of violent incidents involving ICE officers. In Illinois, a pastor was shot in the face with a pepper ball, and a CBS News reporter was allegedly hit with chemical agents during a field operation. In California, an ICE raid on a cannabis farm left one worker dead after falling from a greenhouse roof.

Civil rights groups, including the ACLU of Illinois, have filed lawsuits accusing ICE of using "near-lethal weapons such as tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper-balls, flash grenades, and other unwarranted and disproportionate tactics" against protesters and bystanders. "What we're seeing is a general escalation of violence and the use of excessive force by ICE officers," ACLU spokesperson Ed Yohnka told NPR.