Trump administration immigration operations cost U.S. cities hundreds of millions in overtime
Mar 24, 2026

An analysis found that ICE enforcement surges across multiple U.S. cities in 2025-2026 resulted in substantial costs to local governments and police departments. Los Angeles police spent $41 million on overtime in June 2025, while Minneapolis police spent over $6 million between January and February during Operation Metro Surge, with the city estimating total economic costs at $203 million. Portland police nearly doubled their 2024 overtime payouts for event response, including nearly 3,000 hours for a single Homeland Security Secretary facility visit. Police departments already facing post-2020 staffing shortages were further strained by the operations, which were largely concentrated in Democratic-led cities.
Sources
- ICE deployments created chaos for cities and cost them millions, NPR analysis finds
NPR·Mar 24, 2026·archived copy
southcarolinapublicradio.org·Mar 24, 2026·archived copy
hppr.org·Mar 24, 2026·archived copy
KCSM·Mar 24, 2026·archived copy
WPRL·Mar 24, 2026·archived copy
- ICE deployments didn’t just cause chaos in cities across America - they also cost them millions, new research shows
aol.com·Mar 25, 2026·archived copy
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