The Real Cost

I’m a survivor-advocate. I’m also someone who cares deeply about how we spend our resources—and what we’re choosing not to fund. This visualization shows one piece of that: how much the U.S. spends on immigration enforcement compared to prevention and support for trafficking survivors. It’s a question about priorities. And it’s personal.

Bek's Research for the Morally Ambitious

The Real Cost

Every year, the federal government spends billions detaining immigrants — most of whom have committed no crime. This is where the money goes, and what it could fund instead.

Total ICE Enforcement Spend — Since January 20, 2025
Calculating…
$40,000,000 / day  ·  $462.96 / second  ·  $14.6B / year

Symbolic visualization of appropriations authorized by P.L. 119-21  ·  Not a real-time Treasury figure  ·  View source law ↗

One day of ICE spending ($40M) could instead fund…

Sources: HHS Office of Head Start FY2024 · USDA FNS FY2024 · Federal Student Aid FY2025 · ICE daily = $14.6B ÷ 365

Not legal or financial advice  ·  For educational and advocacy purposes only  ·  Estimates based on public law P.L. 119-21 and IRS Statistics of Income  ·  Individual results vary by income and filing status

ZIP Tax Clock

Your money. Their budget.

Every second, federal tax dollars fund ICE enforcement. This clock has been running since January 20, 2025. Enter your ZIP to see your personal share.

Personalize to your ZIP code

No data collected or stored. Estimated from median income for your ZIP prefix area.

Your ZIP code is processed entirely within your browser and is never sent to a server  ·  For educational purposes only  ·  Not tax advice

Methodology: ICE share = $14.6B ÷ $4,900B federal revenue = 0.298%. ZIP income from IRS Statistics of Income.

Federal Spending — BOP & ICE Budgets (2015–2025)
$0B$4B$8B$12B$16B20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Federal Prison (BOP) ICE Enforcement

Sources: DOJ FY2025 Performance Budget; ICE Congressional Justifications FY2015–2025

Cost Comparison: What Your Tax Dollars Fund

What It Costs: Daily Detention vs. Alternatives
ICE detention average daily cost: $146 / person / day GAO-23-105563: Immigration Detention (2023)
Federal prison (BOP) average cost: $120 / person / day DOJ FY2025 Performance Budget, Bureau of Prisons
Alternatives to Detention program cost: $17 / person / day ICE ERO FY2024 Report; ACLU 2023 analysis
State prison average cost: $96 / person / day Vera Institute of Justice — Prison Spending 2024
What the Same Money Could Fund Instead
Head Start per-child annual cost: $6,300 HHS Office of Head Start — FY2024 Program Information Report
SNAP benefit per family annually: $2,200 USDA FNS SNAP Program Data 2024

Tax Brackets by ZIP Prefix

Legislation Tracker

Live data · Refreshed hourly · Powered by Supabase

ZIP code calculations are performed entirely in your browser and are never transmitted  ·  The legislation tracker retrieves public bill status data from a third-party database (Supabase)  ·  No personally identifying information is collected by this site

Bill statuses reflect available data and may not capture recent legislative activity  ·  Verify current status at Congress.gov ↗

Numbers like these matter because they shape policy. Policy shapes lives. If this data shifts something in how you think about prevention, about survivor support, about what we’re choosing to fund—I’d love to keep that conversation going.

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