How Much Did DHS Spend in Minneapolis, Chicago and Los Angeles?

The cost to send federal immigration agents and officers to “sanctuary cities” is hard to pin down, and ranges from $18 million a week in Minneapolis to $59 million over two months in Chicago.

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More than $409 billion in federal funding was devoted to immigration enforcement over more than two decades since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created, but the amount first calculated by the American Immigration Council in 2024 has jumped by hundreds of millions since President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration began last year.

Accurately calculating the cost of surging federal immigration officers and agents to urban areas like Los Angeles, Chicago and most recently, Minneapolis, is not an exact science.

Elected officials, nonprofit organizations and media outlets are left to create mathematical formulas based on government costs for agent compensation, lodging and food to predict how much American taxpayers are paying for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to move agents and officers into cities to carry out the Trump administration’s mass deportation mission.

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The mega-funding bill ear-marked $30 billion for immigration enforcement and another $45 billion for detention in ICE facilities over the next three years. But in addition to the DHS funding that covers government per diems for operational funding, Gupta said the bill also allows the agency to operate behind a wall of secrecy.

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A cost analysis by the non-partisan nonprofit North Star Policy reported “Operation Metro Surge” in the Twin Cities cost an estimated $18 million a day. The agency calculated expenses like salaries ($9 million), lodging and meals based on per diems for government employees ($4.5 million per week) and migrant detention ($1.6 million per week), along with other costs, to come up with the “very conservative” figure.

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In addition, Minneapolis officials estimate “Operation Metro Surge” resulted in a $203 million hit to the city’s local economy.

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DHS also spent tens of millions in going after what it considers “the worst of the worst” over two months in Chicago last fall, coming at a cost of at least $59 million, an analysis conducted by the Chicago Tribune found.

That surge, which began in October, led to more than 3,500 arrests, sparked outrage from elected officials and local communities where Bovino’s Border Patrol agents deployed tear gas and other non-lethal munitions on protesters before “Operation Midway Blitz” ended in early December.

The newspaper’s analysis found that the highest costs came from sending migrants to ICE detention centers, at an estimated $30.96 million.

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More than $19 million was spent on deploying the National Guard, the Tribune reported. Two-hundred National Guard troops were deployed from Texas and housed in the Chicago suburbs.

In a letter to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) estimated that between June and December 2025, about $496 million was spent on deploying National Guard troops to U.S. cities. Merkley estimated that about $21 million was spent to send National Guardsmen from Texas and Chicago and keep them housed in the suburbs.

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Los Angeles became the first major urban flashpoint for federal immigration enforcement in June 2025, when Trump deployed 4,200 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the city.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) office said the surge cost the state’s taxpayers nearly $120 million. Newsom’s office estimates that taxpayers were tasked with covering the costs of $37 million in payroll, more than $4 million in logistics supplies, $3.5 million in travel and $1.5 million in demobilization costs.

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The cost estimate compiled by the governor’s office did not take into consideration expenses for Border Patrol agents and ICE officers sent to Southern California during the deployment. {snip}

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The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors recently reported that the region incurred more than $1 billion in economic damage due to the summer enforcement effort.

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