What was the average annual ICE budget from 2002 to 2022?

1. Why the central question is unanswerable with the given documents — a forensic look

The materials provided by the analysts consistently report insufficient year-by-year data for 2002–2022, so no precise arithmetic average can be produced from them alone. Multiple analyses explicitly state the same limitation: sources mention budgets for isolated years (for example, 2003 and 2024, or FY2024 and FY2025 proposals) and trend statements that ICE spending increased from roughly $3.3–$3.51 billion in the early 2000s to about $9.6–$9.99 billion by FY2024, but they do not supply a table of annual appropriations or enacted budgets for each fiscal year between 2002 and 2022 ^{[1] [2] [5]}. That absence prevents calculation of an accurate arithmetic mean.

2. What the sources do provide — endpoints and trend statements that frame the period

The assembled analyses supply several consistent endpoint figures and trend descriptions: early ICE spending is cited near $3.3–$3.51 billion around 2003, and later figures place ICE near $8.4–$9.99 billion in the 2023–2024 range, with some reporting a proposed or projected increase into FY2025 and beyond ^{[1] [3] [4]}. Analysts also note legislative infusions in later years—Congressional appropriations described as large multi-year packages—without translating those into consistent annual historical totals ^[2]. These data points establish a clear multi-fold increase in ICE funding but cannot substitute for annual line-item data needed for a precise average.

3. Estimates offered in the analyses — method and limits

One analyst attempted a rough estimate by assuming linear growth from early‑2000s spending to FY2024 levels and derived an approximate average around $6.4 billion for 2003–2024, but they explicitly framed this as a rough approximation dependent on a linear-growth assumption ^[4]. Other entries refrain from estimating without full annual series, noting that calculations would require the full set of enacted budgets or appropriations for each fiscal year ^{[1] [5]}. Any estimate that relies on linear interpolation or endpoint averaging is inherently uncertain because ICE budgets experienced year-to-year policy and supplemental funding swings tied to Congress, administrations, and unforeseen events.

4. Where the analysts disagree and where they converge — parsing nuance

All provided analyses converge on the fact that ICE’s budget rose substantially from its early years to the mid-2020s; they diverge only on whether to present a numeric average without full data. Some entries reference recent dramatic proposals or legislative measures that inflate future-year totals—such as FY2025 proposals or multi‑year packages—highlighting how forward-looking figures complicate historical averaging ^{[2] [3]}. The shared caution across sources underscores that credible historical averages require primary budget tables or authoritative databases, not isolated headlines or single-year snapshots.

5. What primary documents you would need to settle the question precisely

To compute a verifiable average annual ICE budget for 2002–2022 you must obtain the enacted ICE budget (or total ICE federal obligations) for each fiscal year 2002 through 2022 from authoritative records: Congressional appropriations acts, OMB tables, DHS budget justifications, or GAO/official ICE annual reports that list enacted funding per fiscal year. The GAO and DHS budget documents are explicitly mentioned as analyses that discuss budget modeling and execution but do not, in the excerpts supplied, give the full year series ^{[6] [5]}. Only a complete year-by-year series allows an exact arithmetic mean; without it, any number is a model-based estimate.

6. Bottom line for consumers of these analyses — what to report and what to avoid

Report the empirically supported conclusion: ICE funding increased markedly from roughly $3.3–$3.51 billion in the early 2000s to roughly $9.6–$9.99 billion by FY2024, as stated across the materials, and acknowledge that the provided documents do not supply the annual figures necessary to compute an exact average for 2002–2022 ^{[1] [3] [4]}. Avoid presenting a single "average annual budget" number unless you first retrieve the full enacted budget series from primary budget documents. That restraint preserves accuracy and prevents misleading precision.