US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has sharply increased its spending on weapons in 2025, according to an analysis of federal government contracting data by Popular Information.
Records from the Federal Procurement Data System reveal that ICE has increased spending on “small arms, ordnance, and ordnance accessories manufacturing” by more than 700 percent compared to 2024 levels.
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New spending in the small arms category from January 20, 2025, the day Trump was inaugurated, through October 18, totaled $71,515,762.
Most of the spending was on guns and armor, but there have also been significant purchases of chemical weapons and “guided missile warheads and explosive components.”
On September 29, 2025, ICE made a $9,098,590 purchase from Geissele Automatics, which sells semi-automatic and automatic rifles.
The total spending by ICE in the small arms category between January 20 and October 18 last year was $9,715,843.
Spending by ICE on guns and other weapons so far this year not only dwarfs its spending during the Biden administration but also during Trump’s first term.
In 2019, for example, ICE spent $5.7 million on small arms through October 18.
Average ICE spending on small arms during Trump’s first four years was about $8.4 million.
The data likely understates new spending on weaponry deployed in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, since many other federal agencies beyond ICE have been involved.
But it provides a window into how ICE and other agencies are bringing an unprecedented number of high-powered weapons into American cities.
The surge in spending on ICE weaponry has coincided with a wave of violent incidents by ICE officers. Several dangerous situations have been captured on video.
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