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Washington, D.C. — Today, Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) released a new oversight report exposing the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) multi-million-dollar surge in spending and contracts to amass deadly weapons and ammunition since the start of the second Trump administration. This growing arsenal, fueled by at least $144 million in contracts last year for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), coincides with DHS’s deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents to neighborhoods across the country and their ongoing misuse of lethal and non-lethal force against individuals in cities from California to Minnesota.
The report includes a review of government funding and contract data to highlight how the Trump administration is committed to spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to buy large quantities of lethal weapons and ammunition, including AR-style rifles, and “less lethal” weapons, such as tear gas, pepper spray, and TASERs.
“Americans across the country have been witnessing the results of an unchecked immigration enforcement policy that has led to tragic and fatal consequences. The devotion of vast resources to this mass detention and deportation agenda has created an immigration/industrial complex, that contributes to and profits from the suffering of other human beings. The gun industry has been one of the beneficiaries. This report exposes how DHS has set in motion a massive surge in spending to add even more dangerous weapons to ICE and CBP’s arsenal. This misuse of taxpayer dollars to maximally arm federal immigration agents, including those with questionable vetting and insufficient training, must end,” said Senator Schiff.
The data reveals that in just one year, ICE’s spending commitments on weapons, ammunition, and accessories surged fourfold – over 360 percent – when compared to ICE’s contracts in 2024. In 2025, CBP’s contracts for weapons, ammunition, and accessories doubled when compared to CBP’s 2024 totals.
Specifically, the report highlights:
Against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s aggressive deployment of ICE and CBP officers in communities across the country, this report not only shines a light on the significant increase in spending by DHS on a range of weapons and other tools but also sounds the alarm as DHS builds a heavily armed and unaccountable domestic police force.
Senator Schiff’s report follows the President’s recent unambiguous and dangerous comments about the upcoming elections and how his administration may deploy federal agents to polling stations or conduct illegal investigations of election systems.
Read more on The Santa Barbara Independent
