The Department of Homeland Security spent over $140 million on weapons for ICE in 2025

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spent over $144 million on weapons, ammunition, and related accessories during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to an oversight report released by Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California. The report examines official procurement data and details what it describes as a “dramatic” increase in spending to strengthen the arsenal of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

According to the document, ICE quadrupled — an increase of more than 360% — its spending commitments on weapons, ammunition, and accessories in 2025 compared to the previous year, when Democratic President Joe Biden was still in office. During that same period, CBP contracts related to weapons doubled compared to 2024. In 2025 alone, both agencies placed joint orders to purchase thousands of new high-powered lethal weapons with public funds.

The analysis, based on records from USAspending.gov and the Federal Procurement Data System between January 20, 2025, and January 20, 2026, warns that the figures are likely to be an underestimate, as they do not capture all the equipment issued to agents. Even so, the report maintains that the commitments reflect different stages of delivery. In some cases, the equipment has already been received, while in others it is still in the process of being supplied.

Notable among the purchases are tens of millions of dollars spent on lethal weapons, including thousands of AR-style rifles, handguns, and accessories such as optical sights and bulletproof vests. More than $30 million was committed for ammunition. More than $25 million was also recorded for “less lethal” weapons and crowd control devices, such as tear gas, pepper spray, and TASER devices.

The report mentions specific contracts with manufacturers. In September 2025, ICE issued a $9.1 million purchase order to Geissele Automatics for precision rifles and accessories to support armed agents and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau of Firearms and Tactical Programs. Although the exact number of weapons was not specified, an estimate based on civilian versions of these rifles suggests that several thousand could have been purchased.

For its part, in September 2025, CBP placed an order worth $3.25 million with Glock Inc. For 9mm service pistols, repair parts, and accessories. On January 20, 2026, the agency placed another order worth $644,544 for more pistols of the same caliber.

The increase in spending coincides with the aggressive deployment of federal immigration agents in communities across the country. In cities governed by Democrats, there have been clashes between agents and protesters, involving the use of rubber bullets, chemical agents at close range, and damage to vehicles.

Criticism of DHS tactics intensified after the deaths of two U.S. Citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis in January during immigration operations. Their deaths prompted calls for investigations from both Democrats and Republicans. Subsequently, the so-called “border czar,” Tom Homan, announced the end of the immigration operation in Minnesota, with the departure of hundreds of agents.

In a statement, Schiff said Americans have witnessed the consequences of an unchecked immigration policy that has led to tragic and fatal results. According to the senator, the report exposes how DHS has implemented a massive increase in spending to add even more dangerous weapons to the arsenal of ICE and CBP. He also called the process a misuse of taxpayer money to arm federal agents to the max, some of whom, he noted, would have undergone questionable vetting processes and insufficient training.

The report places these acquisitions in the context of a $165 billion budget injection for DHS approved in the spending bill signed by President Trump, which nearly doubled the department’s annual funding for four years. In July, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem celebrated the passage of the budget package, saying the funds would help fulfill the presidential mandate to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records.

Schiff’s office argues that, in the context of the nationwide deployment of ICE and CBP, the increase in spending not only exposes a significant expansion of the federal arsenal but also raises alarms about the construction of a heavily armed and limitedly accountable domestic police force.

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