Understanding the FY2026 DHS Budget Request

Understanding the FY2026 DHS Budget Request

September 5, 2025 (R48704)
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Summary

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the third largest agency in the federal government in terms of civilian personnel. In FY2024, the annual appropriations bill that funded it was the sixth largest of the 12 annual funding measures developed by the appropriations committees. It is the only appropriations bill that funds a single agency exclusively and in its entirety.

The second administration of President Donald Trump came into office with the government operating under a continuing resolution, and amidst discussion between the congressional majority and the President about using the reconciliation process to enact a significant portion of the President's policy agenda. Development of this FY2025 reconciliation bill overlapped with the resolution of the FY2025 appropriations process with enactment of a full-year CR (P.L. 119-4) in March, and the start of the FY2026 appropriations process.

Starting in April, elements of the reconciliation package became public as sections of the bill were marked up in House committees. Congress ultimately developed an FY2025 reconciliation package (P.L. 119-21) that would be enacted on July 4, 2025. The bill included $178 billion in funding for DHS—the largest single package of DHS supplemental appropriations ever put before Congress. The measure included unprecedented amounts of funding for border security and immigration enforcement (with limited specificity as to how the funding was to be divided across specific accounts or activities), as well as for U.S. Coast Guard acquisitions. Supplemental funding was also provided for the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

While this process was unfolding, the FY2026 appropriations process began on a parallel track. The President released an initial budget outline on May 2, 2025, and the budget Appendix, which includes appropriation-level detail and proposed legislative language on May 30, a week before the House Appropriations Committee Homeland Security Subcommittee made their proposed bill public.

The Administration's budget request indicated that the annual appropriations and reconciliation funding were intended to complement one another. When evaluating this information, the structure of the funding provided in P.L. 119-21 and limited publicly available information about spending plans for those resources may present some challenges in analyzing the Administration's annual budget request.


Introduction

The second administration of President Donald Trump came into office with the government operating under a continuing resolution, and amidst discussion between the congressional majority and the President about using the reconciliation process to enact a significant portion of the President's policy agenda. Development of this FY2025 reconciliation bill overlapped with the resolution of the FY2025 appropriations process with enactment of a full-year continuing resolution ("CR", P.L. 119-4) in March, and the start of the FY2026 appropriations process, during which the annual budget request was transmitted later than any year in the history of the department of Homeland Security (DHS). The enacted reconciliation measure (P.L. 119-21) would ultimately include more than $178 billion for five DHS components and the Secretary of DHS, with limited detail on how much of these funds would be applied to various activities.

This report analyzes DHS-related elements of the FY2025 reconciliation package (H.R. 1; P.L. 119-21) based on publicly available information, and the Trump Administration's appropriations request for FY2026. The intent is to prepare the reader for understanding the context for subsequent action on FY2026 appropriations.

Timeline of Legislative Activity

Two separate processes are defining the resources available to DHS in FY2025 and FY2026: the budget reconciliation process for FY2025 and the annual appropriations process. The overlapping of these processes may present some challenges or uncertainties in analysis for some observers.

Table 1 presents a timeline of budget and DHS appropriations actions from the inauguration of the second Trump Administration through Congress's August 2025 District Work Period. The first and second columns to the right of the date indicate the status or change in status of the budget and reconciliation process and the appropriations process, respectively. The fourth column includes the budget process timeline outlined in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Titles I-IX of P.L. 93-344; 2 U.S.C. §§601-688), as it would have applied to FY2026.

Table 1. FY2025/FY2026 Budget and Appropriations, January-August, 2025

Date

Budget and Reconciliation Process

FY2025 / FY2026 Appropriations Process

Budget Process Timeline in Statute

(2 U.S.C. §631)a

January 20, 2025

No FY2025 budget resolution had been passed; the House and Senate developed interim allocations under the terms of P.L. 118-5 for purposes of the appropriations process.

The federal government was operating under the terms of an interim continuing resolution for FY2025.

February 3, 2025

FY2026 budget request due.

February 21, 2025

Senate passes its FY2025 budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 7).

February 25, 2025

House passes its FY2025 budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 14).

March 15, 2025

Full-year continuing resolution for FY2025 enacted (P.L. 119-4).

April 1, 2025

Senate Budget Committee reports FY2026 budget resolution.

April 5, 2025

Senate adopts amended House FY2025 budget resolution.

April 10, 2025

House adopts Senate-amended FY2025 budget resolution.

April 15, 2025

Congress completes action on the FY2026 budget resolution.

May 2, 2025

President releases FY2026 discretionary ("skinny") budget request.

May 15, 2025

FY2026 annual appropriations bills may be considered in the House.

May 22, 2025

House passes FY2025 reconciliation measure (H.R. 1).

May 30, 2025

President releases FY2026 Budget Appendix and DHS budget justifications.

June 9, 2025

House Appropriations Committee Homeland Security Subcommittee marks up the FY2026 DHS appropriations bill.

June 10, 2025

House Appropriations Committee reports last FY2026 annual appropriations bill.

June 15, 2025

Congress completes action on FY2026 reconciliation legislation.

June 24, 2025

House Appropriations Committee marks up the FY2026 DHS appropriations bill (H.R. 4213).

June 30, 2025

House completes action on FY2026 annual appropriations bills.

July 1, 2025

Senate passes amended H.R. 1.

July 3, 2025

House passes Senate-amended H.R. 1.

July 4, 2025

FY2025 reconciliation package enacted (P.L. 119-21).

Source: CRS analysis.

Notes: For additional information on the budget process and timeline, see CRS Report R47235, The Congressional Budget Process Timeline, by Drew C. Aherne and CRS Report R47019, The Executive Budget Process: An Overview, by Dominick A. Fiorentino and Taylor N. Riccard.

a. This column lays out the statutory timeline for the budget process for comparison with the actions shown in the first two columns. The information in this column does not reflect the timing of actual events.

The Context for FY2026 DHS Budget Request

FY2025 Appropriations

As the 119th Congress began, the federal government was operating under an extension of an interim continuing resolution (P.L. 118-158 and P.L. 118-83, respectively). The interim continuing resolution (CR) included a $231 million supplemental appropriation for the U.S. Secret Service in the wake of the July 2024 shooting incident during then-candidate Donald Trump's campaign rally in Butler, PA.1 The extension included $29 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), $313 million for the U.S. Coast Guard, and $14 million for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center as part of a disaster assistance package.2 Congress did not vote on other supplemental appropriations requests by the Biden Administration related to border security and immigration matters.3

On March 15, 2025, President Trump signed into law P.L. 119-4, the FY2025 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, which set funding levels for the federal government through FY2025, largely based on FY2024 funding levels, with some exceptions.4 The full-year CR included $93.69 billion in gross discretionary budget authority for DHS. Of this, $22.51 billion was for the costs of major disasters (which received special exemption from discretionary budget limitations), $6.24 billion was paid for by offsetting collections, and $163 million was offset by rescissions, which reduced the net discretionary budget authority in the measure to $64.79 billion.

FY2025 Reconciliation

As the 119th Congress began, discussions between the incoming Administration and the congressional majority were already underway to develop a budget reconciliation package that would enact a large portion of the incoming Trump Administration's policy agenda. The bill was envisioned to include border security funding, additional defense spending, extension of expiring tax cuts, and an increase in the debt limit, among other elements.5 The President signed the FY2025 reconciliation package (P.L. 119-21) into law on July 4, 2025. The law included the largest single package of DHS supplemental appropriations acted on by Congress to date.

When the bill initially passed the House on May 22, 2025, it included $178.19 billion in mandatory budget authority for DHS: $165.59 billion for six components, and $12.60 billion in directed to DHS activities through the Secretary. When the bill was signed into law on July 4, 2025, it included $191.02 billion for DHS: $168.96 billion for those same six components, and $22.06 billion directed through the Secretary. In total, this was almost double the funding provided in the FY2024 annual appropriations process, and included more than three times the non-disaster grant funding appropriated that year.

Component-specific funding was provided for:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)$64.73 billion, including:

  • $46.55 billion for border infrastructure and wall system;6
  • $6.17 billion for a range of border security, technology, and screening operational and procurement costs;7
  • $4.1 billion for hiring additional agents, officers, and support personnel;8
  • $2.05 billion for recruitment bonuses, performance awards, and retention bonuses;9
  • $0.86 billion for vehicles;10 and
  • $5 billion for CBP facilities.11

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)$74.85 billion, including:

  • $45 billion for detention capacity;12 and
  • $29.85 billion for a range of operational and procurement costs.13

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)$24.59 billion for procurement and certain maintenance costs.14

U.S. Secret Service (USSS)$1.17 billion for "additional United States Secret Service resources," including a newly authorized set of performance, retention and signing bonuses.15

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)$2.88 billion, including:

  • $0.5 billion for State and local capabilities to detect, identify, track, or monitor threats from unmanned aircraft systems;
  • $0.63 billion security and other costs related to the 2026 FIFA World Cup;
  • $1.0 billion for security, planning, and other costs related to the 2028 Olympics;
  • $0.45 billion for the Operation Stonegarden Grant Program;16 and
  • $0.30 billion to reimburse law enforcement costs for support requested by the U.S. Secret Service in protecting presidential residences.17

Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC)$0.75 billion, including

  • $0.29 billion for supporting training activities; and
  • $0.47 billion for facilities.18

The bill also provided $22.06 billion to the Office of the Secretary for a variety of purposes, including:

  • $10 billion "for reimbursement of costs incurred in undertaking activities in support of the [DHS] mission to safeguard the borders of the United States";19
  • $10 billion for a "State Border Security Reinforcement Fund," which provides grants to states for border barrier construction and related activities, certain countersmuggling activities, and relocation of undocumented aliens;20
  • $2.06 billion for
  • Hiring and training of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and support staff (in addition to what was included for these purposes elsewhere in the measure) "to carry out immigration enforcement activities";
  • Transportation and related costs associated with the departure or removal of aliens;
  • Assignment of DHS employees and State officers to carry out immigration enforcement activities;
  • Hiring additional staff for screening and vetting of aliens;
  • Certain activities related to alien children, including criminal and gang checks and removal;
  • Transporting and return of aliens from contiguous territory;
  • State and local participation in certain homeland security efforts;
  • Certain types of removal of criminal aliens; and
  • Information technology investments to support immigration-related activities.21

No specific plan for use of the enacted budget authority in either FY2025 or FY2026 had been made public by September 1, 2025.

Table 2 includes some comparisons that may be useful in putting these funding levels in context with historical funding levels for the department. The table presents the most recent year of identifiable comparable funding, as well as a five-year historical total, as the funding from P.L. 119-21 is generally available for obligation for five fiscal years.

Table 2. DHS FY2025 Reconciliation Funding in Context

Component/Activity

FY2025 Appropriations

Total FY2020-FY2024 Appropriations (except where noted)

P.L. 119-21 (available FY2025-2029)

CBP, Total Appropriations

$20.078 billion

$86.549 billion

$64.733 billion

CBP, Border Barrier Construction

$0

$5.841 billion (FY2017-FY2020)a

$46.550 billionb

All Sources, Border Barrier Construction

$0

$16.342 billion

(FY2017-FY2020)a

$46.550 billionb

ICE, Total Appropriations

$10.042 billion

$42.867 billion

$74.85 billion

ICE, Detention Capacity

$2.427 billion

(Custody Operations)c

$14.000 billion

(Custody Operations)c

$45.000 billion

USCG, Procurement, Construction and Improvements Appropriation

$1.414 billion

$9.695 billion

$24.954 billion

USSS, Total Appropriations

$3.319 billion

$13.376 billion

$1.170 billion

FEMA, Operation Stonegarden

$0.08 billion

$0.441 billion

$0.450 billion

FEMA, Presidential Residence Protection

$0

$0.060 billion

$0.300 billion

FLETC, Total Appropriations

$0.377 billion

$1.831 billion

$0.750 billion

FLETC, Operations and Support

$0.357 billion

$1.641 billion

$0.285 billion

FLETC, Procurement, Construction, and Improvement

$0.021 billion

$0.189 billion

$0.465 billion

OSEM, Total Appropriations

$0.405 billion

$1.593 billion

$22.06 billiond

Source: FY2025 appropriations are drawn from H.Rept. 119-173. FY2020-FY2024 appropriations are drawn from internal CRS databases of appropriations information, with the exception of FY2020-FY2024 ICE Custody Operations data, which was drawn from ICE budget justifications for FY2022-FY2026. Table does not include data on all FEMA grant funding in the bill, given the lack of comparable DHS funding streams.

Notes: Values include annual and supplemental appropriations, including funds designated as an emergency requirement. Values do not include the effect of transfers, rescissions, or offsetting collections.

a. These cells present data on border barrier funding provided during the first Trump Administration.

b. These cells represent a single $46.550 billion value, shown twice for ease of comparison horizontally.

c. The Custody Operations Program, Project, or Activity (PPA) was the best available comparable to the detention capacity funding. It historically has included all the annually appropriated funding for DHS immigration detention beds, although it also includes some payroll and non-payroll operational costs not directly associated with detention beds.

d. Includes $10 billion for reimbursing states for certain "border security" activities, and $10 billion for reimbursing "costs incurred in support of the [DHS] border security mission."

The FY2026 DHS Budget Request

Under current law, the President is required to submit a budget request to Congress no later than the first Monday in February. It is not unusual for an incoming Administration's initial budget request to be delayed. In such cases, a discretionary budget request (known colloquially as a "skinny budget") is often presented to Congress to enable congressional debate on a budget resolution. This skinny budget is traditionally followed by a more complete request, which fulfils the remaining statutory requirements.22

As noted in Table 1, President Trump released a skinny budget for FY2026 on May 2, 2025.23 This document provided an overall outline of intentions for agency budgets, including DHS. However, the request did not include complete details below the Department level, or justifications. Although it described an FY2026 budget providing DHS $107.4 billion in discretionary funding—which would represent an increase of $42.3 billion from the FY2025 enacted level—$43.8 billion of that total was to come from the additional multiyear budget authority in the reconciliation package that was still pending at the time.24

Later that month, on May 30, the Trump Administration released the FY2026 Budget Appendix, outlining account-level detail of its budget request.25 Over the ensuing weekend, DHS released its budget justifications on its website. This release of departmental budget justifications occurred later than in any prior year for DHS.

Availability of Budget Documentation

While the Trump Administration has released some additional budget-related materials, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not released what it has termed a "full" budget request for FY2026 as of this writing.26 In public remarks, OMB Director Russell Vought indicated that a full budget release was "just something that wasn't in our interest to do," due to potential public confusion with the reconciliation package. He also noted that a Mid-Session Review would be published, and that next year would have a "normal budget process."27 Mid-Session Reviews are typically released in July, but the FY2026 Mid-Session Review was dated September 5, 2025.

The FY2026 budget appendix did not include a specific breakdown of intended uses of the resources provided to DHS through the reconciliation package, which was still working its way through Congress. It did include an allowance for that funding, projecting that $43.75 billion would be spent from the reconciliation package funding in FY2026, broken down by general issue areas (see Table 3).28

Table 3. FY2026 Projected Obligations from P.L. 119-21

Program Activity

Projected FY2026 Obligations

Immigration Enforcement

$18.542 billion

Border Security

$2.333 billion

Border Wall Construction

$11.500 billion

State and Local Support

$3.681 billion

Coast Guard Acquisition

$7.444 billion

U.S. Secret Service Operations

$0.250 billion

Source: FY2026 Budget Appendix, p. 457.

Notes: Projections in the Budget Appendix were not based on the enacted amounts in P.L. 119-21.

DHS Budget Structure

The budget for DHS includes a variety of discretionary and mandatory budget authority. Aside from standard discretionary spending, which provides the bulk of departmental resources,29 some of the discretionary spending in the bill is offset by collections of fees, reducing the net effect on the general fund of the Treasury.

Additionally, a large portion of the funding FEMA receives for the DRF has received special budgetary exemptions from subcommittee allocations and statutory spending limits.30

The DHS mandatory budget authority in the annual request is, for the most part, not referenced in annual appropriations legislation. Some mandatory spending items require funding in appropriations acts because there is no dedicated source of funding to meet the government's obligations established in authorizing laws—such as the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) retirement accounts.31 Figure 1 shows a breakdown of these different categories from the FY2025 budget request.

Figure 1. FY2026 Budget Request Structure

Source: Developed by CRS, based on the "Departmental Scorekeeping Table," Department of Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2026 Congressional Justification, pp. DHS-9 – DHS-24, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2025-06/25_0613_dhs_fy26-congressional-budget-justificatin.pdf.

Notes: "Discretionary Appropriations" reflects the offsetting effect of the disaster relief designation and the offset and fee-funded discretionary budget authority shown in the two bars below it. The Administration's accounting for appropriated mandatory budget authority includes the Aviation Security Capital Fund and several U.S. Coast Guard items: Retired Pay, Boat Safety, Maritime Oil Spill Program, and General Gift Fund.

Appropriations-Level Analysis

Types of DHS Appropriations

In FY2017, at congressional direction, DHS implemented a Common Appropriations Structure (CAS), reorganizing most DHS discretionary appropriations into four categories:

  • Operations and Support (O&S), which generally covers operating salaries and expenses;
  • Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I), which funds planning, development, engineering, purchase, and deployment of assets to support component missions;
  • Research and Development (R&D), which provides resources needed to identify, explore, and demonstrate new technologies and capabilities to support component missions; and
  • Federal Assistance (FA), which supports grant funding managed by DHS components.

Some DHS appropriations do not fit the CAS categories. For instance, FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is a unique discretionary appropriation that has been preserved separately, in part, due to the history of the high level of public and congressional interest in that particular account.32

Of the $97.97 billion in gross discretionary budget authority requested for DHS in FY2026, $94.1 billion (96.0%) falls into the four CAS categories and the DRF.33

The CAS structure typically allows for a relatively straightforward comparison of the level of departmental investment in these broad categories across components. However, as the Administration has not provided a crosswalk of the reconciliation funding to specific appropriations, the ratios presented in this product are less representative of proposed investment in FY2026 than they were in prior years.34

Table 4 shows the values of the four CAS categories and the DRF in detail, and expresses that value as a share of total annual DHS discretionary appropriations.35 The following columns show the comparable ratio for the FY2025 requested and enacted annual appropriations.

Table 4. FY2026 DHS Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority Request by Common Appropriations Structure (CAS) Category

($thousands of budget authority, does not include $3.9 billion outside the CAS categories)

FY2026 Request

Share of DHS Gross Discretionary Budget Authority

FY2025 Annual Requested Share

FY2025 Annual Enacted Share

Operations and Support

$60,736,413

62.0%

63.5%

64.6%

Disaster Relief Fund

26,474,000

27.0%

25.9%

24.2%

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements

3,843,541

3.9%

1.9%

3.6%

Federal Assistance

2,593,517

2.6%

4.0%

3.4%

Research and Development

432,175

0.4%

0.5%

0.4%

Source: CRS analysis of the "Departmental Scorekeeping Table," Department of Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2026 Congressional Justification and the detail table from H.Rept, 118-553.

Notes: Figures do not include advance or emergency-designated appropriations.

A visual representation of the underlying data from the first two columns follows in Figure 2. On the left are the four appropriations categories of the CAS, plus the DRF and a catch-all "other" category for discretionary spending not included in these activity types.36 A black bar represents (to scale) the FY2025 funding levels requested for DHS for each category. Colored lines flow to the DHS components listed on the right showing the amount of funding requested in each category to each component.

Figure 2. FY2026 Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority Request by Category and DHS Component

Source: CRS interpretation of the "Departmental Scorekeeping Table," Department of Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2026 Congressional Justification.

Notes: FEMA = Federal Emergency Management Agency; CBP = U.S. Customs and Border Protection; USCG = U.S. Coast Guard; TSA = Transportation Security Administration; ICE = U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; MD = Management Directorate; CISA = Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; USSS = U.S. Secret Service; ST = Science and Technology Directorate; USCIS = U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; CWMD = Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office; FLETC = Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers; IASA = Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness; OSEM = Office of the Secretary and Executive Management; OIG = Office of Inspector General.

Table 5 presents the requested gross discretionary budget authority for FY2026 for each DHS component, as well as the funding level requested for FY2025 and enacted through the full-year continuing resolution (CR) in P.L. 119-4.

  • Four analytical columns on the right side of the table provide comparisons of the FY2026 requested funding levels with the FY2025 requested and enacted annual funding levels, indicating dollar and percentage change.
  • Components are listed in the order in which they appear in the DHS appropriations measures.
  • The indented and italicized line beneath the FEMA entry shows the portion of the value above that is covered by the special budgetary adjustment for disaster relief.

Table 5. Component-Level Analysis of DHS Annual Appropriations Request (FY2025-FY2026)

(Thousands of dollars of gross discretionary budget authority)

FY2026 Request

v. FY2025 CR

% change

v. FY2025 Annual Request

% change

OSEM

$325,367

($79,328)

(19.6%)

($33,099)

(9.2%)

MD

3,990,565

(196,459)

(4.7%)

(80,885)

(2.0%)

IASAa

387,637

42,227

12.2%

39,335

11.3%

OIG

234,058

13,931

6.3%

852

0.4%

CBP

19,755,925

(322,115)

(1.6%)

1,702,466

9.4%

ICE

10,881,035

838,973

8.4%

874,718

8.7%

TSA

11,353,309

224,022

2.0%

(195,708)

(1.7%)

USCG

13,179,695

1,057,147

8.7%

(56,052)

(0.4%)

USSS

3,294,853

(23,944)

(0.7%)

338,472

11.4%

CISA

2,378,338

(494,670)

(17.2%)

(630,709)

(21.0%)

FEMA

30,925,991

3,355,426

12.2%

2,740,836

9.7%

Disaster Relief

26,474,000

3,964,000

17.6%

3,766,000

16.6%

USCIS

111,142

(169,998)

(60.5%)

(154,088)

(58.1%)

FLETC

397,488

20,288

5.4%

34,099

9.4%

ST

758,754

17,120

2.3%

(77,354)

(9.3%)

CWMD

-

(409,441)

(100.0%)

(420,022)

(100.0%)

Source: CRS analysis of the FY2026 Department of Homeland Security Overview, H.Rept. 118-553, and H.Rept. 119-173.

Notes: Numbers in parentheses are negative. "-" represents a zero value. Italicized lines are elements of the non-italicized line above it. FY2025 enacted numbers include $231 million added for the U.S. Secret Service in the first CR extension. FY2025 request numbers include requests designated as an emergency requirement, but not contingent appropriations. Mandatory funding provided in P.L. 119-21 and advance appropriations for FEMA and CISA are not included. OSEM = Office of the Secretary and Executive Management; MD = Management Directorate; IASA = Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness; OIG = Office of Inspector General; CBP = U.S. Customs and Border Protection; ICE = U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; TSA = Transportation Security Administration; USCG = U.S. Coast Guard; USSS = U.S. Secret Service; CISA = Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; FEMA = Federal Emergency Management Agency; USCIS = U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; FLETC = Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers; S&T = Science and Technology Directorate; CWMD = Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office.

a. The request documents refer to this component as Analysis and Operations, but appropriations materials since FY2023 refer to it as "Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness."

DHS Staffing

The O&S appropriation for each component pays for most DHS personnel.37 Table 6 and Table 7 analyze changes to DHS staffing, as illuminated by the budget request's information on positions and full-time equivalents (FTEs)38 for each component. Appropriations legislation does not explicitly set these levels, so the information for the following analysis is drawn from the DHS budget justifications.

The Administration has not made public any information on the number of positions or FTE that would be funded by the reconciliation package, neither through the budget justifications nor in other publicly available material.39

In Table 6, the first two data columns indicate the number of positions requested for each component in the FY2026 budget request—expressed numerically, and then as a percentage of total positions. The next three columns show the number of positions funded in the enacted FY2024 annual appropriations measure for DHS and the difference between the FY2026 request and the FY2024 number—expressed numerically, then as a percentage change. Table 7 shows the same analysis for FTEs. Note that neither funded positions nor FTE are direct indicators of current actual staffing levels.

Table 6. Analysis of DHS Requested Positions for FY2026

FY2026 Request

Percentage of Total DHS Positions

FY2024 Enacted

Change in Positions Funded from FY2024

% Change in Number of Positions

CBP

69,874

27.4%

69,379

495

0.7%

TSA

59,232

23.2%

61,844

(2,612)

(4.2%)

USCG

53,138

20.8%

52,728

410

0.8%

USCIS

25,504

10.0%

24,449

1,055

4.3%

ICE

21,808

8.5%

21,781

27

0.1%

USSS

8,826

3.5%

8,382

444

5.3%

FEMA

5,642

2.2%

6,240

(598)

(9.6%)

MD

4,181

1.6%

4,186

(5)

(0.1%)

CISA

2,649

1.0%

3,732

(1,083)

(29.0%)

FLETC

1,130

0.4%

1,124

6

0.5%

A&O

996

0.4%

1,051

(55)

(5.2%)

OSEM

835

0.3%

1,035

(200)

(19.3%)

OIG

809

0.3%

809

0

0.0%

S&T

574

0.2%

574

0

0.0%

CWMD

0

0.0%

286

(286)

(100.0%)

Total Positions

255,198

100.0%

257,600

(2,402)

(0.9%)

Funded by Disaster Relief-Designated Appropriations

0

0.0%

0

0

n/a

Funded by Mandatory Appropriations

39,151

15.3%

37,577

1,574

4.2%

Source: CRS analysis of the "Comparison of Budget Authority and Request" table in the DHS Fiscal Year 2026 Congressional Justifications: Congressional Overview, p. DHS-4.

Notes: Numbers in parentheses are negative. FY2026 numbers do not include personnel funded through P.L. 119-21. Coast Guard totals reflect civilian personnel and military servicemembers.

Table 7. Analysis of DHS Requested Full-Time Equivalents (FTE) for FY2026

Component

FY2026 Request

Percentage of DHS FTE

FY2024 Enacted

Change in FTE Funded from FY2024

% Change in the Number of FTE

CBP

67,964

26.5%

66,584

1,380

2.1%

TSA

56,071

21.8%

58,639

(2,568)

(4.4%)

USCG

51,892

20.2%

51,622

270

0.5%

USCIS

22,711

8.8%

22,270

441

2.0%

ICE

21,757

8.5%

21,548

209

1.0%

FEMA

17,275

6.7%

16,004

1,271

7.9%

USSS

8,607

3.4%

8,303

304

3.7%

MD

3,957

1.5%

3,954

3

0.1%

CISA

2,324

0.9%

3,294

(970)

(29.4%)

FLETC

1,098

0.4%

1,093

5

0.5%

A&O

963

0.4%

1019

(56)

(5.5%)

OSEM

786

0.3%

945

(159)

(16.8%)

OIG

736

0.3%

703

33

4.7%

S&T

566

0.2%

565

1

0.2%

CWMD

0

0.0%

263

(263)

(100.0%)

Total FTE

256,707

100.0%

256,806

(99)

0.0%

Funded by Disaster Relief-Designated Appropriations

11,717

4.6%

10,006

1,711

17.1%

Funded by Mandatory Appropriations

35,249

13.7%

32,968

2,281

6.9%

Source: CRS analysis of the "Comparison of Budget Authority and Request" table in the DHS Fiscal Year 2026 Congressional Justifications: Congressional Overview, p. DHS-4.

Notes: Numbers in parentheses are negative. FY2026 numbers do not include FTE funded through P.L. 119-21. Coast Guard totals reflect civilian personnel and military servicemembers.

In examining the O&S appropriations for each component later in this report, note that the Administration requested a pay freeze for all civilian employees for 2026 in their budget request, while it requested a 3.0% increase for military personnel.40 Therefore only the USCG request reflects pay increase costs, for roughly 44,437 personnel.

Comparing the FY2026 Discretionary Appropriations Request to Prior-Year Levels

The following visual summaries of the budget requests for DHS components are drawn from a survey of the DHS FY2026 budget justifications for each component.

Each visual summary presents a figure showing two comparisons:

  • The first outlines the request for FY2026, the annual enacted level for FY2025, and the request for FY2025, showing the share of each component as a black bar within the whole of DHS. The data label on the left of the bar shows the requisite level for the component (the black portion of the bar), and the label on the right shows the level for the remainder of DHS (the gray portion of the bar).
  • The second outlines the breakdown by CAS appropriations category (as described above) for the request for FY2026, the annual enacted level for FY2025, and the request for FY2025.

The figures are presented in the following order:

Title II: Law Enforcement Operational Components

  • U.S. Customs and Border Protection
  • U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
  • Transportation Security Administration
  • U.S. Coast Guard
  • U.S. Secret Service

Title III: Incident Response and Recovery Operational Components

  • Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency

Title IV: Support Components

  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
  • Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers
  • Science and Technology Directorate
  • Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office

Title I: Headquarters Components

  • Office of the Secretary and Executive Management
  • Management Directorate
  • Intelligence, Analysis and Situational Awareness
  • Office of Inspector General

These figures are comparisons of annual appropriations only, and do not include supplemental appropriations, proposed contingency appropriations, or funding provided through P.L. 119-21.

Title II: Law Enforcement Operational Components

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Figure 3. CBP Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package. "Other" appropriations include COBRA Free Trade Agreement collections, and small airport and Global Entry user fees appropriated to CBP. The FY2026 request for CBP O&S includes $4 million for Radiation Portal Monitor support that had been funded through CWMD.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Figure 4. ICE Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Figure 5. TSA Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package. "Other" appropriations include TSA Vetting Fee Programs.

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)

Figure 6. USCG Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package. "Other" appropriations include the USCG Housing Fund permanent indefinite discretionary funding for the Health Care Fund Contribution. The FY2026 request for USCG includes $4 million in O&S and $61 million in R&D for activities that had been funded through CWMD.

U.S. Secret Service (USSS)

Figure 7. USSS Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package. FY2025 CR level does not include $231 million in additional discretionary resources for the USSS protective mission provided in P.L. 118-83.

Title III: Incident Response and Recovery Operational Components

Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency (CISA)

Figure 8. CISA Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package. The FY2026 request for CISA O&S includes $238 million for BioWatch, Securing the Cities, and Training, Exercise, and Readiness programs that had been funded through CWMD.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Figure 9. FEMA Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package. "Other" appropriations include National Flood Insurance Program Mission Support, and Floodplain Management and Flood Mapping. F2026 request funding does not include $30 million in funding for the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program, due to OMB's methodology. Both "Other" values for FY2025 include $34 million for that activity.

Title IV: Support Components

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Figure 10. USCIS Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package.

Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC)

Figure 11. FLETC Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package.

Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)

Figure 12. S&T Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package.

Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD)

Figure 13. CWMD Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package. The FY2026 budget proposal proposes transferring the functions and resources of CWMD to OSEM ($61 million), CBP ($4 million), TSA (less than $2 million), USCG ($65 million), USSS (less than $2 million), and CISA ($238 million).

Title I: Headquarters Components

Office of the Secretary and Executive Management (OSEM)

Figure 14. OSEM Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package. The FY2026 request proposed moving more than $61 million for CBRN Risk/Detection Architecture and the National BioSurveillance Integration Center from CWMD to OSEM.

Management Directorate (MD)

Figure 15. MD Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package. "Other" appropriations represent funding for the Federal Protective Service, which is fully offset.

Intelligence, Analysis and Situational Awareness (IASA)

Figure 16. IASA Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package.

Office of Inspector General (OIG)

Figure 17. OIG Annual Gross Discretionary Budget Authority, FY2025-FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Technical Supplemental to the 2026 Budget: Appendix, and H.Rept. 118-553.

Notes: Amounts do not include the effect of transfers, mandatory spending for fee-funded programs, offsetting collections, advance or supplemental appropriations, or funding through the FY2025 reconciliation package.

FY2026 House Appropriations Committee Action

On June 9, the House Appropriations Committee Homeland Security Subcommittee marked up its version of the FY2026 DHS appropriations act. The full committee marked up the bill on June 24, and reported it out as H.R. 4213, with H.Rept. 119-173 accompanying it. The bill included $66.36 billion in discretionary appropriations, according to the House Appropriations Committee.41 The bill also included $26.47 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund as requested by the Administration, designated as being for the costs of major disasters, and therefore essentially exempt from discretionary spending limits.42

Potential Considerations

The funding provided in the FY2025 reconciliation package represents the highest multi-year budget authority on record for CBP, ICE, and the USCG, as well as to the Secretary. The structure of that funding and the limited public information on the Trump Administration's spending plans complicate identifying and prioritizing DHS's remaining funding requirements for FY2026.

Congress has traditionally made determinations about funding levels for all aspects of the Department of Homeland Security, and the diverse missions of its components, through the appropriations process, rather than through reconciliation. While the funding provided through P.L. 119-21 greatly exceeds the entire annual DHS budget, it does not resource the entire department. Various functions of seven of its 15 components received reconciliation resources. It remains unclear how these resources will affect the final resolution of the FY2026 DHS appropriations act.

The reconciliation funding is, for the most part, available through FY2029. Initial distributions of some of the budget authority have already occurred, with ICE and the USCG receiving clearance from OMB to begin obligating almost all the budget authority provided them in P.L. 119-21.43 Footnotes on those apportionments indicate that OMB has directed DHS to provide spending plans for the resources provided in P.L. 119-21. Congress may wish to review those spending plans as well.

Appendix. Glossary of Abbreviations

CAS

Common Appropriations Structure

CBP

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (DHS component)

CBRN

Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear

CISA

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (DHS component)

COBRA

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985

CR

Continuing Resolution

CRS

Congressional Research Service

CWMD

Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (DHS component)

DHS

Department of Homeland Security

DRF

Disaster Relief Fund (appropriation)

FA

Federal Assistance (appropriation)

FEMA

Federal Emergency Management Agency (DHS component)

FLETC

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (DHS component)

FTE

Full-Time Equivalent (measure of work)

FY

Fiscal Year

IASA

Intelligence, Analysis and Situational Awareness (DHS component)

ICE

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS component)

MD

Management Directorate (DHS component)

O&S

Operations and Support (appropriation)

OIG

Office of Inspector General (DHS component)

OMB

Office of Management and Budget

OSEM

Office of the Secretary and Executive Management (DHS component)

PC&I

Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (appropriation)

PPA

Program, Project, or Activity (subdivision of an appropriations account)

R&D

Research and Development (appropriation)

S&T

Science and Technology Directorate (DHS component)

TSA

Transportation Security Administration (DHS component)

USCG

U.S. Coast Guard (DHS component)

USCIS

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS component)

USSS

U.S. Secret Service (DHS component)


Footnotes

1.

P.L. 118-83, Sec. 136.

2.

P.L. 118-158, Division B.

3.

Information on the Biden Administration's supplemental appropriations requests can be found here: https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/legislative/letters/.

4.

For detailed information on the year-long CR, see CRS Report R48517, Section-by-Section Summary of the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025 (Division A of P.L. 119-4), coordinated by Drew C. Aherne.

5.

David Lerman, "Quick Action Planned for 'Big, Beautiful' Budget Bill" CQ News, January 5, 2025, https://plus.cq.com/doc/news-8144896?13, as accessed on August 11, 2025.

6.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 90001

7.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 90004(a).

8.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 90002(a)(1).

9.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 90002(a)(2).

10.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 90002(a)(3).

11.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 90002(a)(4).

12.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 90003.

13.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 100052. Eleven subsections list potential uses of these funds, without specified funding levels.

14.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 40001. Thirteen subsections list specific uses of these funds, with specified funding levels.

15.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 100057.

16.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 90005.

17.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 90006.

18.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 100053.

19.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 90007.

20.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 90005(b).

21.

P.L. 119-21, Sec. 100051. Twelve subsections list potential uses of these funds, without specified funding levels.

22.

For more information on the budget process timeline, see CRS Report R47235, The Congressional Budget Process Timeline, by Drew C. Aherne.

23.

Letter from Russell T. Vought, Director, Office of Management and Budget, to Senator Susan Collins, Chair, Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, May 2, 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf.

24.

Funding in the reconciliation measure is scored as mandatory spending. Therefore Table 2 describes the DHS values as "Homeland Security, including reconciliation resources."

25.

Administration budget documents for FY2026 (and for prior years) can be found at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/budget.

26.

Requirements for the content of the budget are outlined in statute at 31 USC 1105. For detailed discussion of the structure and precedents of presidential budget requests, see CRS Report R47019, The Executive Budget Process: An Overview, by Dominick A. Fiorentino and Taylor N. Riccard.

27.

Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, as quoted at the "Monitor Breakfast," July 17, 2025. As downloaded from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLrgDJ2haDQ on August 6, 2025.

28.

Due to the lack of distinction between components in the budget appendix and between appropriations in the reconciliation package, it is not possible to present a detailed analysis of how the funding affects specific appropriations accounts.

29.

The annual budget for DHS includes less than $17 billion in mandatory budget authority.

30.

Both the special designation for disaster relief funding and the statutory spending limits the designation adjusted, established by the Budget Control Act (P.L. 112-25), expired at the end of FY2021. Congress has chosen to extend that flexibility in subsequent fiscal years, and could continue to do so.

31.

For a further discussion of these terms and concepts, see CRS Report R46240, Introduction to the Federal Budget Process, by James V. Saturno.

32.

Additional information on the DHS Common Appropriations Structure (CAS) and other DHS appropriations, can be found in "The DHS Common Appropriations Structure" section of CRS Report R45268, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2019, by William L. Painter.

33.

Roughly two-thirds of the gross discretionary budget authority not included in the CAS structure or Disaster Relief Fund for FY2026 is the Federal Protective Service (FPS), whose appropriations are fully offset by fees.

34.

CRS emails with DHS Office of Legislative Affairs, June 4, 2025, July 7, 2025, and August 8, 2025.

35.

As the "other" category is a mixture of diverse elements without a common theme, and the size of its elements are either fixed or set by outside factors, it is excluded from this analysis.

36.

Included in the "other" category are certain appropriations fully offset by fee collections and permanent indefinite discretionary spending (i.e., U.S. Customs and Border Protection small airport user fee and U.S. Coast Guard contributions for health care costs of its Medicare-eligible personnel).

37.

Two significant exceptions within DHS are U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which uses fee collections to pay for most of its personnel, and the Federal Protective Service—part of the Management Directorate—which is funded wholly through offsetting collections for services provided.

38.

The term "full-time equivalents" or "FTEs" is a measure of work equal to 2,080 hours per year. This is distinct from positions, which is a measure of the number of employees on board or to be hired.

39.

While earlier versions of H.R. 1 had hiring targets by fiscal year, those provisions were not included in the enacted measure.

40.

Department of Homeland Security, Fiscal Year 2026 Congressional Justifications: Congressional Overview, p. DHS-5. Note that other references elsewhere, including the discretionary budget request, refer to a 3.8% military pay raise. Pay adjustments are made by the calendar year, rather than the fiscal year.

41.

House Appropriations Committee, "Committee Approves FY26 Homeland Security Appropriations Act," press release, June 24, 2025, https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/committee-approves-fy26-homeland-security-appropriations-act.

42.

For details on the allowable adjustment for disaster relief, see CRS In Focus IF10720, Calculation and Use of the Disaster Relief Allowable Adjustment, by William L. Painter and CRS Report R48387, Exemptions to the Fiscal Responsibility Act's Discretionary Spending Limits, by Drew C. Aherne and Megan S. Lynch.

43.

As of August 20, 2025, apportionment.public.max.gov.