President Donald Trump is preparing to significantly expand his immigration enforcement campaign in 2026, doubling down on aggressive tactics despite mounting political backlash ahead of next year’s midterm elections. The administration plans to sharply increase workplace immigration raids, expand detention capacity, and hire thousands of new enforcement officers, fueled by an unprecedented surge in federal funding for border and immigration agencies.
The push marks the next phase of Trump’s hardline immigration agenda, a central pillar of his return to the White House, even as polls show declining public support for the administration’s approach and local elections signal growing voter unease in communities heavily affected by enforcement actions.
Under a massive spending package passed by the Republican-controlled Congress in July, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), including the Border Patrol, will receive an additional $170 billion in funding through September 2029. That represents a dramatic expansion over their current combined annual budgets of roughly $19 billion, providing the Trump administration with resources to scale up deportations on a level not previously seen.
Administration officials say the funding will be used to hire thousands of new agents, open new detention facilities, expand cooperation with local law enforcement, and contract private companies to help locate immigrants living in the country without legal status. A major shift under consideration is a renewed focus on workplace enforcement — a politically sensitive tactic that earlier crackdowns largely avoided.
Expansion of Workplace Raids
While federal agents have carried out high-profile immigration raids in major U.S. cities in 2025, enforcement efforts have so far steered clear of many farms, factories, and construction sites — industries known to rely heavily on immigrant labor and considered economically and politically influential.
That restraint may soon end.
Senior administration officials say workplace raids will become a central component of enforcement in 2026, a move expected to dramatically increase arrest numbers but also risk alienating business owners and voters concerned about labor shortages and rising costs.
White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed to Reuters that expanded workplace enforcement is firmly on the table.
“I think you’re going to see the numbers explode greatly next year,” Homan said, citing increased staffing and detention capacity. “The president promised a historic deportation operation, and he’s delivering.”
Trump has repeatedly pledged to deport one million immigrants per year, a benchmark he is unlikely to meet in 2025. Since taking office in January, his administration has deported approximately 622,000 people, according to government figures.
Political Warning Signs Emerge
The administration’s plans come as warning signs emerge for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.
Trump’s approval rating on immigration — historically his strongest issue — has fallen sharply. According to recent polling, approval dropped from 50% in March, before large-scale urban crackdowns began, to 41% in mid-December. The decline coincides with images of masked federal agents conducting raids in residential neighborhoods, using tear gas, and detaining individuals later found to be U.S. citizens.
In Miami, one of the cities most affected by enforcement actions due to its large immigrant population, voters last week elected a Democratic mayor for the first time in nearly 30 years. The mayor-elect cited backlash against federal immigration tactics as a key factor in the outcome.
Other local elections and polling data show similar patterns, suggesting that aggressive enforcement may be mobilizing opposition in swing districts.
“People are beginning to see this not as an immigration question anymore,” said Mike Madrid, a moderate Republican strategist, “but as a violation of rights, a violation of due process, and the militarization of neighborhoods.”
Madrid warned that such perceptions pose a growing political risk for both Trump and congressional Republicans heading into 2026.
Broadening the Deportation Net
In addition to stepped-up enforcement, the Trump administration has significantly expanded the pool of people eligible for deportation by revoking temporary legal protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
In recent months, the administration has stripped temporary protected status and parole programs from immigrants from Haiti, Venezuela, and Afghanistan, many of whom had been legally authorized to live and work in the United States. Those actions have placed large new populations at risk of detention and removal.
The administration has also targeted legal immigration pathways more aggressively. Federal agents have arrested spouses of U.S. citizens during green card interviews, removed individuals from naturalization ceremonies moments before they were set to become citizens, and revoked thousands of student visas, according to advocacy groups and legal filings.
Despite official statements emphasizing the removal of criminals, government data paints a more complex picture.
By late November, 41% of roughly 54,000 people detained by ICE had no criminal record beyond an alleged immigration violation, agency figures show. By comparison, in early January — before Trump took office — only 6% of detainees fell into that category.
The shift has intensified criticism from civil rights organizations and fueled legal challenges accusing the administration of racial profiling and due process violations.
Economic and Business Impact
The administration’s renewed focus on employers could have far-reaching economic consequences.
Workplace raids could disrupt industries already facing labor shortages, forcing employers to raise wages to replace detained workers — a development that could complicate Trump’s broader economic messaging on inflation and affordability.
Some businesses have already responded defensively. In cities targeted by enforcement actions, reports have emerged of businesses temporarily closing, customers staying home, and parents keeping children out of school for fear of arrest. Some U.S. citizens have begun carrying passports or birth certificates to avoid mistaken detention.
Sarah Pierce, director of social policy at the center-left think tank Third Way, said businesses that have remained largely silent may soon be forced to respond.
“It will be interesting to see whether or not businesses finally stand up to this administration,” Pierce said, noting that workplace enforcement directly affects employers’ bottom lines.
Earlier this year, the administration briefly exempted certain industries from immigration enforcement on Trump’s orders, only to reverse course weeks later — a sign of internal tension between economic and political priorities.
Hardliners Push for More
Immigration hardliners argue that targeting employers is long overdue.
Jessica Vaughan, policy director at the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for reduced immigration levels, said workplace enforcement is essential to deterring illegal immigration.
“Eventually you’re going to have to go after these employers,” Vaughan said. “When that starts happening, the employers will start cleaning up their acts on their own.”
Trump has framed his crackdown as a necessary response to what he describes as years of lax enforcement under his Democratic predecessor, former President Joe Biden. He has repeatedly blamed Biden-era policies for record levels of illegal border crossings and has cast his actions as restoring law and order.
A High-Stakes 2026 Strategy
As Trump prepares to escalate enforcement in 2026, the administration faces a delicate balancing act: delivering on campaign promises to immigration hardliners while managing growing resistance from voters, businesses, and local governments.
The scale of new funding ensures that the administration has the resources to follow through on its plans. Whether voters will reward or punish that approach remains one of the central political questions heading into the midterm elections.
For now, Trump shows no sign of retreating.
With workplace raids expanding, deportations increasing, and legal protections narrowing, immigration is set to remain one of the most contentious and defining issues of his presidency — and a decisive factor in the political battles ahead.
Emily Johnson is a critically acclaimed essayist and novelist known for her thought-provoking works centered on feminism, women’s rights, and modern relationships. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Emily grew up with a deep love of books, often spending her afternoons at her local library. She went on to study literature and gender studies at UCLA, where she became deeply involved in activism and began publishing essays in campus journals. Her debut essay collection, Voices Unbound, struck a chord with readers nationwide for its fearless exploration of gender dynamics, identity, and the challenges faced by women in contemporary society. Emily later transitioned into fiction, writing novels that balance compelling storytelling with social commentary. Her protagonists are often strong, multidimensional women navigating love, ambition, and the struggles of everyday life, making her a favorite among readers who crave authentic, relatable narratives. Critics praise her ability to merge personal intimacy with universal themes. Off the page, Emily is an advocate for women in publishing, leading workshops that encourage young female writers to embrace their voices. She lives in Seattle with her partner and two rescue cats, where she continues to write, teach, and inspire a new generation of storytellers.
