Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

Pentagon’s requested budget for 2026 indicates the Defense Department plans to spend at least $5 billion more for southern border operations alone

Cover Letter to the Pentagon (PDF) | Text of Report (PDF)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative John Garamendi (D-Calif.-08) in releasing a new report detailing the Trump Administration’s diversion of funds and resources from the Department of Defense (DoD) to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to support immigration enforcement, and its impact on readiness and morale.

Under the second Trump Administration, the U.S. military has become heavily involved in immigration enforcement. The lawmakers’ new report, the first detailed review of the Pentagon’s spending on immigration, found that DoD has committed at least $2 billion to support immigration enforcement through mobilizing and deploying troops to American cities and the Southern border, deporting and transporting immigrants on military aircrafts, detaining individuals on U.S. military installations, and more.

The report comes after a federal judge’s ruling yesterday barred the Trump Administration from deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles, requiring the Administration to end the federalization of the remaining 100 troops in the area and returning authority over them to California. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer wrote in his ruling that the “defendants’ argument for a president to hold unchecked power to control state troops would wholly upend the federalism that is at the heart of our system of government,” noting that the Administration’s position would give them a blank check “to create a perpetual police force comprised of state troops, so long as they were first federalized lawfully” that is unreviewable by courts.

Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), along with Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.-06) and Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.-51), co-authored the report.

“Diverting the military from its existing missions and thrusting it into immigration enforcement does not make Americans safer. This multi-billion-dollar political stunt is an overt waste of taxpayer resources and undermines national security, military readiness, and resources for our servicemembers,” wrote the lawmakers.

The report raised concerns that, in addition to the cost of the DoD immigration efforts, it has resulted in “servicemembers … being pulled from their homes, families, and civilian jobs for indefinite periods of time to support legally questionable political stunts,” continued the lawmakers.

Despite an unprecedented $170 billion budget allocated to DHS, it’s unclear how much DoD has received in reimbursement for any of its spending on immigration enforcement. Meanwhile, the military is funding these efforts in support of DHS with money allocated for other DoD projects, including updates to barracks, maintenance hangers, and military construction projects in the Pacific. Concerningly, the Pentagon has requested an additional $5 billion for further immigration support in its budget request for 2026. 

The members’ report found that, in 2025, the Pentagon has committed:

• At least $1.3 billion for the deployment of troops and resources to the border; 
• At least $258 million to support Trump’s orders to deploy troops to Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, and Memphis, along with plans to reassign 600 Judge Advocates (JAGs) as immigration judges; 
• At least $420.9 million for detaining immigrants at domestic military installations and overseas bases like Guantánamo and Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti; and 
• At least $40.3 million for military flights to deport and transport noncitizen detainees. 

The deployment of troops for immigration enforcement has also weakened the military’s ability to respond to emergencies. For example, the 101st Airborne Division — the U.S. Army’s only air assault division — deployed to the border instead of standing ready for national security missions. Additionally, leading into peak fire season, the California National Guard firefighting unit was “understaffed because roughly half its members [were] deployed to Los Angeles.” These deployments may also require units to miss key training exercises necessary to ensure combat readiness, as the Government Accountability Office found occurred during the first Trump Administration.  

The report also slammed the Administration’s failure to adequately inform Congress and the public about the diversion of funds. The coalition directed follow-up questions to Secretary Hegseth about the number of troops currently supporting immigration enforcement, how long military units will be supporting DHS, and whether DHS will reimburse the military.

Senator Padilla has been a leading voice in opposition to President Trump’s militarization of Los Angeles and other American cities, diverting away critical DoD resources. In June, Padilla led the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in demanding that President Trump immediately withdraw all military forces from Los Angeles and cease all threats to deploy the National Guard or active-duty servicemembers to American cities. In September, Padilla and Schiff filed an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the lawsuit brought against President Trump for his misuse of the U.S. military in Los Angeles to suppress peaceful protests. The California Senators also demanded the Department of Defense provide information on operational details related to the ongoing deployment of California National Guard personnel in Los Angeles. Additionally, Padilla introduced bicameral legislation to enhance oversight and accountability of the President’s deployment of the National Guard.

Earlier this year, Senators Padilla and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) called for a review of the exorbitant costs of the Trump Administration’s use of the United States Naval Station Guantánamo Bay to detain immigrants. In a letter to President Donald Trump, the Senators highlighted the nearly $40 million in taxpayer dollars that was spent in a matter of months for the migration operations mission and called for the President to direct the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization (USDS) to investigate this spending. The letter followed an official delegation visit the Senators joined to conduct oversight of the operations at the base in March.

Full text of the report is available here.

###