by Immigration agency to absorb IRS, EPA, and “probably education too”
President Trump unveiled an ambitious plan to streamline government operations by consolidating all federal agencies under Immigration and Customs Enforcement, creating what he calls “one beautiful agency that does everything.”
The proposal, announced via Truth Social at 3:47 AM, would transform ICE from an immigration enforcement agency into a sprawling bureaucracy responsible for taxes, environmental protection, education, healthcare, and “whatever else the government does, I’m not really sure, but ICE will handle it.”
“Why have all these different agencies when you can have one super-agency?” Trump wrote in a post that continued for 47 consecutive messages. “ICE is already very good at enforcement. Why not let them enforce everything? Taxes? ICE. Clean air? ICE. Teaching kids? ICE. It’s efficiency. Beautiful efficiency. Some people are saying it’s the most efficient idea in history.”
The ICE expansion proposal would require congressional approval, which lawmakers from both parties agree is “extremely unlikely,” though several noted they’ve said that before about Trump policies that eventually became reality through mechanisms nobody fully understood.
Acting ICE Director Patrick Lechleitner responded to the announcement with what sources describe as “visible confusion and possibly fear.” During a hastily arranged press conference, Lechleitner attempted to explain that ICE agents are trained in immigration enforcement, not tax collection or environmental science.
“With all due respect to the president, our agents know how to conduct raids and process deportations,” Lechleitner said carefully. “They don’t know how to calculate capital gains taxes or monitor air quality. These are different skill sets. Very different. Almost entirely unrelated, actually.”
Trump dismissed these concerns, insisting that “smart people can learn anything” and that ICE agents are “the smartest, most beautiful agents in government, much smarter than those EPA people who are always complaining about pollution or whatever.”
The plan includes provisions for ICE to absorb the Internal Revenue Service, with agents conducting tax audits using the same aggressive tactics currently employed in workplace raids. Treasury Department officials warned this approach might be “constitutionally problematic” and “terrifying for taxpayers,” prompting Trump to accuse them of “not understanding innovation.”
“Imagine you’re late filing your taxes,” explained policy advisor Stephen Miller, who reportedly helped develop the plan. “Instead of getting a letter from the IRS, ICE shows up at your door at 5 AM with a warrant. Suddenly, you’re very motivated to file correctly. It’s behavioral economics.”
Environmental groups expressed alarm at the prospect of ICE managing the EPA, noting that immigration agents have no background in climate science, pollution monitoring, or environmental law. Trump responded that “the environment is fine” and that ICE would do “a much better job than those people who keep saying the planet is dying, very negative people.”
The Education Department absorption would task ICE agents with overseeing public schools, developing curriculum, and apparently conducting surprise inspections of classrooms to ensure “patriotic education is happening.” Teachers unions called the plan “dystopian” and “exactly the kind of thing we thought was hyperbole when we warned about it six months ago.”
Administrative experts note that the proposal would create the largest federal agency in history, with a mandate so broad it would essentially function as “the entire government except military and slightly less than the entire government including military.”
Congressional Republicans offered tepid support while privately admitting the plan is “insane.” Senator Josh Hawley called it “interesting” and “something we should consider,” adding that he “definitely won’t vote for it but appreciates the president’s creative thinking.”
Democrats unanimously opposed the plan, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling it “constitutionally indefensible, practically impossible, and honestly just weird. Why ICE? Why not merge everything into the Post Office? At least they have experience with logistics.”
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/trump-proposes-ice-expansion/
SOURCE: Trump Proposes Expanding ICE to Handle All Federal Responsibilities (Aisha Muharrar)
