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Fact check: Which federal agencies saw the largest budget increases in 2025?
Executive Summary
The clearest, evidence-backed picture from the supplied documents is that in the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Defense (DoD), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) were among the agencies with the largest budget increases for fiscal year 2025, while in Canada the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were highlighted as receiving the biggest planned bumps. The most prominent single claim is that ICE received a dramatic increase — $75 billion over four years and $28.7 billion for FY2025 — positioning it as one of the largest funding winners in 2025 [1].
1. Why ICE stands out as a 2025 funding winner and what that figure actually means
The strongest, most specific claim in the documents is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement received a substantial new allocation characterized as $75 billion over four years and $28.7 billion for fiscal year 2025, a near-tripling of prior sums that the analyst frames as a major redistribution of resources to immigration enforcement (p1_s1, published 2025-08-13). This figure is presented as an aggregate legislative outcome of the FY2025 appropriations process and is echoed by reporting that the Department of Homeland Security saw targeted increases for ICE and TSA (p1_s3, 2025-03-18). The documentation identifies ICE as a principal beneficiary among DHS components, and the magnitude claimed—if taken at face value—represents a substantive policy and operational shift toward enforcement capacity, with budgetary implications for detention, deportation, and enforcement programs [1] [2].
2. The Defense angle: incremental increases vs. headline growth
Multiple entries point to the Department of Defense as another major area of increased spending, though the character of that increase varies by source. The Congressional Budget Office’s monthly review frames the early FY2025 picture as overall outlays up by $356 billion year-over-year in the first five months, and it names DoD among agencies with significant increases [3]. A separate FY2025 appropriations summary cites a 0.7% boost for DoD, a modest nominal increase in the context of the department’s large base (p1_s3, 2025-03-18). The presidential FY2025 defense request is described as focused on modernization and deterrence (p2_s3, 2025-08-11). These documents therefore present two complementary views: DoD received meaningful additional dollars in 2025, but the percentage increase is modest relative to the department’s overall budget, so headlines about “largest increases” depend on whether one measures absolute dollars, percentage change, or programmatic reprioritization [3] [2] [4].
3. Homeland Security beyond ICE: TSA and DHS-wide shifts
Reporting on appropriations highlights DHS-wide increases that extend beyond ICE to agencies like the Transportation Security Administration, with the appropriations summary noting DHS funding lifts for ICE and TSA (p1_s3, 2025-03-18). The CBO’s monthly review similarly lists DHS among the areas driving higher outlays in early FY2025 [3]. Taken together, the sources portray a broader departmental boost rather than an isolated spike for a single bureau, with DHS receiving targeted increases for both enforcement and security operations. The framing differs by outlet: one emphasizes dramatic ICE growth [1], while others place DHS gains in the context of national defense and security priorities reflected across federal spending [3] [2].
4. Canadian context: DND and RCMP identified as top domestic winners
Separate Canadian-focused reporting identifies the Department of National Defence and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as the domestic agencies poised to receive the biggest federal funding increases in Canada’s 2025 fiscal planning, with DND slated for a $1.8 billion jump from $33.9 billion to $35.7 billion and the RCMP set for a $252 million bump (p2_s1, 2025-05-29). Those figures are presented as government planning priorities within Canada and are independent of the U.S. appropriations conversation; one source explicitly notes that the U.S. federal budget documentation does not provide direct information on Canadian agencies (p2_s2, 2025-04-26). The Canadian documents therefore stand as a separate piece of the 2025 funding story, showing that defense and national policing were prioritized by Ottawa [5].
5. Reconciling competing metrics: absolute dollars, percentage change, and political framing
The supplied materials illustrate that claims about “largest budget increases” depend heavily on the metric chosen: absolute dollar increases (which favor large agencies like DoD or a one-off multiyear ICE allocation), percentage increases (which can exaggerate change for smaller agencies), or programmatic reallocation that signals policy priorities. The sources include both precise claims (an ICE allocation described in dollars and years, p1_s1) and broader fiscal descriptions from the CBO and appropriations summaries that emphasize overall outlays and departmental shifts [3] [2]. Readers should note potential framing motives: domestic reporting may spotlight Canadian defense winners [5], while advocacy-oriented pieces may highlight ICE increases as evidence of policy choices [1].