The Department of Homeland Security committed to spending more than $144 million on guns, ammunition and other weapons during the first year of the Trump administration in a “drastic increase” in resources, according to a report released Thursday by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s spending commitment on weapons increased fourfold in 2025 from the previous year, while Customs and Border Protection’s contracts on weapons doubled when compared with 2024, according to the report, which looked at publicly available government contracting data.
“Just in 2025, ICE and CBP have together placed orders to purchase thousands of new high-powered lethal weapons at taxpayer expense,” the report said.
The administration has faced heavy criticism over its use of force during immigration enforcement operations in Democratic-led cities. Images and videos flooded social media of immigration law enforcement’s violent encounters with protesters, including shooting rubber bullets, spraying chemical agents at close range and smashing car windows.
Pushback against DHS’ tactics came to a head after immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis in January. Their deaths sparked calls for investigation from both Democrats and Republicans. Border czar Tom Homan announced an end to DHS’ immigration operation in Minnesota in the weeks following Pretti’s death, with hundreds of agents leaving.
“Americans across the country have been witnessing the results of an unchecked immigration enforcement policy that has led to tragic and fatal consequences,” Schiff said in a statement to NBC News. “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,” he said.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
According to the report, the DHS spending included contracts worth “tens of millions of dollars” to buy lethal weapons that included assault-style rifles, pistols and related accessories such as optical sights for firearms and body armor. It is unclear how the funds will be divided exactly in arming individual agents.
Included in the spending commitment was a delivery order purchase in September 2025 for $9.1 million from the company Geissele Automatics for “precision long guns and accessories to support armed agents and ICE-Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs,” according to the report.
The report said that while the total cost and number of firearms purchased under the contract were unknown, a rough estimate based on the cost of a civilian version of the company’s rifles “suggests that ICE may acquire at least several thousand such rifles.”
In September 2025, CBP placed an order for $3.25 million from the company Glock Inc. for “9mm duty handguns, repair parts, and accessories,” and on Jan. 20, 2026, it placed another order worth $644,544 for 9 mm handguns from the company, according to the report.
Geissele Automatics and Glock Inc. did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The spending commitments also included more than $30 million for ammunition and more than $25 million on less-lethal weapons and crowd-control devices, including tear gas canisters, pepper sprays and Tasers, according to the report.
When previously asked by CNN about an increase in weapons spending, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told the network the issue was a “non-story” and the agency had also hired thousands of news agents.
“It should come as no surprise that we purchase and acquire firearms for law enforcement,” she told CNN.
During the administration’s immigration crackdown, hundreds have been hurt, and courts in at least four states have found that officers used force inappropriately and indiscriminately. Federal officers carrying out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in cities across the country have shot 13 people with guns.
Border Patrol’s Gregory Bovino, who was later removed from his post as commander at large and returned to his role as sector chief in El Centro, California, was accused of throwing tear gas canisters into crowds on more than one occasion.
The report comes after DHS was given an infusion of $165 billion from Trump’s spending bill to be used over four years. The legislation essentially doubled annual Homeland Security funding.
