Trump's immigration push has Homeland Security hunting for offices across U.S.
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says her department plans to buy new buildings for law enforcement officers assisting with immigration operations.
Why it matters: As local leaders and federal judges push back on President Trump's efforts to expand National Guard deployments in Chicago and Portland, his administration is ramping up law enforcement activities in Democrat-run cities with the billions secured through the "one big, beautiful" act.
What they're saying: "We're looking at new facilities to purchase," Noem said at Thursday's cabinet meeting.
- "We're hardening all of our buildings and making sure that we have more security measures, snipers on the roof, people to protect our law enforcement while they're out there on the streets," she said.
- "We're going to not back off. In fact, we're doubling down," Noem said, adding that she had recently toured several facilities in Chicago that officers could be deployed from.
- "If we have to do it the hard way in Portland and Chicago, we will."
Driving the news: The General Services Administration released a list of U.S. cities where the department hopes to set up shop last month.
- The administration is looking to lock in 10-year leases in nearly two dozen metropolitan areas, including Louisville, St. Louis, Tampa and Grand Rapids.
- The listing doesn't specify what the buildings will be used for, but states that they'll be in "support of administrative operations for law enforcement."
- The GSA and DHS did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Context: After the influx of money from Trump's signature "one big beautiful" act, law enforcement has the budget to execute the president's goal of conducting massive immigration raids and deploying troops wherever Trump sees fit.
- The act allocates more than $100 billion to ICE and border enforcement through September 2029.
What we're watching: Federal Judges in both Portland and Chicago are expected to decide if Trump has the authority to send the National Guard to those cities Thursday.
- If the judges rule against the president, it may encourage him to take the nearly unprecedented move of invoking the rarely-used Insurrection Act so that federal involvement in American cities can continue.
Go deeper: How Chicago became ground zero for Trump's military crackdown
