4. Mr. Trump’s plan involves ending so called “catch and release,” and holding any unauthorized immigrant in a detention facility until they are deported to their country of origin. In the 113th Congress, Rep. Trey Gowdy introduced H.R. 2278, the SAFE Act. According to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, “In addition to expanding the number of ICE deportation officers, H.R. 2278 would also have provided State Criminal Alien Assistance Program grants to state and local governments to cover the costs related to incarcerating undocumented aliens convicted or charged with certain crimes.” The bill permitted states and localities to obtain reimbursement from the Department of Homeland Security for transportation costs related to deportable and undocumented aliens. The CBO determined the program would cost $2.5 billion per year and estimated the total amount of grants to cost $14.412 billion over five 32 years. ICE spends billions of dollars per year to locate and deport criminal aliens: $2.6 billion to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities to identify, apprehend, and remove illegal aliens from the United States. According to the Department of Homeland Security that request included the following: ● Funds to supervise over 60,000 illegal aliens, including $1.3 billion for 30,539 detention beds for higher risk aliens and $94.1 million for the more cost-effective Alternatives to Detention program for those aliens who are not considered a threat to our communities. The Alternatives to Detention program places low-risk aliens under various forms of intensive supervision or electronic monitoring rather than in detention; ● $1.8 billion to provide safe, secure, and humane detention of removable aliens who are held in government custody because they present a risk of flight, a risk to public safety, or are subject to mandatory detention; ● $131.6 million to identify and apprehend alien fugitives in the U.S., with an emphasis on those who pose the greatest risk to public safety; ● $322.4 million to identify and remove criminal aliens, including those incarcerated in Federal, state, and local prisons, ensuring that criminal aliens are not released back into the U.S.; and, ● $229.1 million for the safe and secure transportation of aliens in ICE custody and the removal of aliens from the U.S. ● $24 million to sustain the current operating level for the ICE 287(g) Program, which allows state and local law enforcement to be delegated authority for immigration 33 enforcement. 5. Mr. Trump aims to “defund” “sanctuary cities” by denying them Federal resources they are currently 34 receiving. Theoretically such a move could be net positive if they money wasn’t reallocated. However 32 Brady, Demian, What Would Donald Trump’s Immigration Plan Cost? National Taxpayers Union Foundation, September 10, 2015. Available at: http://www.ntu.org/foundation/detail/what-would-donald-trumps-immigration-plan-cost 33 Budget-in-Brief Fiscal Year 2015, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Available at: http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/FY15BIB.pdf
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