The recent deployment of National Guard troops by President Donald Trump for immigration enforcement efforts has incurred an estimated cost of nearly $500 million to taxpayers, according to a report released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). This financial assessment highlights the expenses associated with the deployment of troops to major cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis, Portland, and Washington, D.C., since June 2020.
The CBO’s report, a comprehensive 10-page analysis, indicates that the total expenditure for these deployments amounts to approximately $496 million through the end of the year. The report underscores the uncertainty surrounding future costs, noting that the scale, duration, and locations of potential deployments are difficult to predict. This unpredictability is further complicated by ongoing legal challenges that have halted some deployments and changes in the administration’s policies.
Continuing the current level of deployments could lead to expenses of $93 million per month by the end of 2025, according to the CBO. If 1,000 troops were to be deployed to a U.S. city in 2026, costs would range between $18 million and $21 million per month, depending on local living costs.
President Trump initiated these deployments in June 2020 to safeguard federal personnel and property amid heightened protests related to immigration enforcement. Additional deployments were made in August to support crime control efforts in the nation’s capital. In October, Trump ordered the federalization of 300 Illinois National Guardsmen, despite objections from Governor JB Pritzker, while 200 members of the Texas National Guard were assigned to Chicago.
By December, Trump withdrew troops from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, following a Supreme Court ruling that indicated the administration had failed to demonstrate a valid legal basis for military involvement in enforcing federal laws in Illinois.
The CBO report was commissioned by Senator Jeff Merkley, the Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee. In his statement, Merkley expressed concern over the financial implications of these deployments, stating, “The American people deserve to know how many hundreds of millions of their hard-earned dollars have been and are being wasted on Trump’s reckless and haphazard deployment of National Guard troops to Portland and cities across the country.”
This report serves as a critical examination of the financial implications of military deployments for domestic purposes, shedding light on the complex interplay between federal policy and local governance. As the situation continues to evolve, the costs and impacts of such deployments will likely remain a topic of significant public interest and debate.
