Donald Trump's ambitious immigration enforcement plans face operational and financial hurdles that could take years to overcome.
The immigration court backlog, currently scheduling cases as far as 2029, is just one of the obstacles, according to a report issued by the Wall Street Journal last week. With only 500 immigration judges in the system, experts estimate that an additional 5,000 judges would need to be hired to efficiently process existing and new cases – a massive staffing challenge requiring substantial congressional funding.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) faces similar resource constraints. The agency currently operates with about 6,000 agents and has a detention capacity for 40,000 immigrants. Trump’s designated border czar, Tom Homan told the Wall Street Journal that military resources could potentially support deportation efforts, though military personnel would be restricted to ancillary tasks like transportation.
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Democratic-led cities present another challenge to implementing widespread deportations. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson recently told CNN that he would not cooperate with federal immigration authorities, saying, “The law is very clear. Local police officers are not federal agents.”
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, while supporting limited deportations of violent offenders, has publicly opposed mass deportations and indicated a willingness to face arrest in resistance.
Modern immigration patterns further complicate deportation logistics, the WSJ said. Unlike the Eisenhower-era deportations Trump often references, which primarily involved Mexican nationals, today’s immigrants arrive from nations including China, India, Mauritania, and Uzbekistan.
It requires coordination with multiple foreign governments, many of which have strained diplomatic relations with the U.S.
Legal barriers also pose challenges. Many proposed changes would require congressional action or even constitutional amendments. The birthright citizenship reform Trump advocates would likely necessitate amending the Constitution – a process last completed in 1992, more than two centuries after that amendment’s initial proposal.
Trump’s advisers, including incoming deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, have suggested pursuing policies that may face legal challenges to test their limits before the conservative-majority Supreme Court. However, existing laws guarantee certain rights, like asylum applications, regardless of entry method.
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The implementation timeline for any major immigration enforcement changes would stretch well beyond initial executive actions. Even with successful funding through budget reconciliation, the government would require time to recruit and train new ICE officers and expand detention facilities.
Without local cooperation from sanctuary cities, ICE operations become much more complex. The agency would need to dedicate additional resources to surveillance and enforcement, as sanctuary policies restrict information sharing about immigrant releases from local jails.
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