“The Cost of Cruelty: ICE Goes Broke" ICE is broke, Trump’s mass deportation plan is in chaos, and Stephen Miller’s obsession is driving America into moral ruin and fiscal collapse; all for show. Michael Cohen Jun 17 Let’s get something straight from the jump: any president; yes, even President Trump, has the legal authority to enact immigration policy and deport undocumented individuals who’ve broken the law. That’s not controversial. That’s not unconstitutional. Hell, even President Obama, who deported more undocumented immigrants than Trump did in his first term, did so with little fanfare. Quietly. Efficiently. Like a grown-up handling serious policy instead of a reality TV producer chasing ratings. But what we’re seeing now? This isn’t about law and order. This is about optics. Chaos. Power. And as always with Trump; money. Or rather, in this case, the gross mismanagement of it. Let’s talk facts, not Trumpian fiction: ICE, under President Trump’s “Go Big or Go Broke” deportation push, is hemorrhaging cash. The agency is already a billion dollars over budget; with three months left in the fiscal year. You read that right: billion, with a “B.” And unless Congress bails him out or he pulls another “national emergency” stunt like he did in 2020 to steal Pentagon funds for his border wall, the whole operation could go belly-up by next month. Now, let’s take a moment and ask the obvious question: Why? Why is ICE teetering on the edge of insolvency? Because Trump demanded that at least 3,000 migrants be detained per day. Not just the violent criminals. Not the cartel thugs. Not MS-13. Not the threats to public safety. No; he wants anyone undocumented: the dishwasher at your local diner, the guy picking your strawberries, the woman changing sheets at your hotel. ICE isn’t raiding meth labs or human trafficking rings. No, they’re pulling up to job sites and hauling away the people who keep the economy running while politicians like Trump scream about “stolen jobs” between rounds of golf. And while Trump’s name is on the executive orders, let’s not kid ourselves about who’s drafting this script of evil: it’s Stephen Miller. The architect of some of the cruelest, most hardline policies this country has ever seen. Miller isn’t interested in immigration reform; he’s interested in eradication. And he’s convinced Trump, once again, that scorched-earth immigration enforcement is the way, no matter the cost; fiscally, morally, or politically. And the result? A bloated deportation dragnet that ICE simply can’t afford, shouldn’t be executing, and that Trump is now trying to sell to Congress like it’s a time-share in hell. Even Trump, as transactional and cynical as he is, seems to recognize this is a grenade without a pin. That’s why, after months of fire-breathing about “millions upon millions” of undocumented immigrants “destroying our inner cities,” he’s quietly issued a reprieve for undocumented workers in industries his hotels and donors depend on; agriculture and hospitality. You don’t get to wave the flag of “law and order” while selectively protecting the people who keep your business empire afloat. So let me get this straight: the guy washing dishes at Mar-a-Lago gets a pass, but the guy loading boxes in Queens gets a knock from ICE? This isn’t immigration enforcement. It’s political theater. It’s cruelty with a spotlight. It’s Stephen Miller’s wet dream with Trump’s signature at the bottom. It’s why he’s fighting like hell every day to ensure it remains in place. And now comes the ask: the “Big Beautiful Bill”; Trump’s $75 billion gambit to fund the largest mass deportation operation in American history. Let’s call it what it is: a bailout for a bloated agency that’s already overspending without authorization. Senator Chris Murphy hit the nail on the head: “They cannot invent money. They cannot print money. They don’t have the money to spend that they’re spending.” But Trump doesn’t care. If Congress won’t fund this disaster, he’ll just rob Peter to pay ICE, the same way he siphoned off $3.8 billion from the Pentagon in 2020. All to keep up the illusion that he’s the tough guy saving America from the scary foreigners. This isn’t immigration policy. ICE raids aren’t about protecting Americans; they’re about terrifying them. The visuals are the point. The fear is the feature, not the bug. The guy pulling the strings behind the curtain? It’s Miller, gleefully feeding Trump a menu of maximum cruelty with a side of white nationalism. And while the president plays border warlord on social media, ICE is running on fumes. Agents are working overtime. Budgets are collapsing. Businesses are bleeding labor. Communities are living in fear. And all of it; every last bit, is being orchestrated not from the Oval Office, but from the dark corners where men like Stephen Miller whisper policy like poison. There’s a word for this: madness. Fiscal madness. Moral madness. And political madness. But that’s the Trump doctrine in a nutshell: bankrupt the nation in pursuit of a grudge. So, here’s the bottom line: immigration enforcement should be smart, strategic, and economically sound. What we have now is theatrical, fiscally reckless, and morally bankrupt; guided not by national interest, but by the obsession of an unelected ideologue determined to leave his mark in fear and pain. And unless Trump wakes up and stops letting people like Stephen Miller steer the ship, this administration isn’t just going broke; it’s going down. WE CANNOT DO THIS ALONE. JOIN THE COMMUNITY! If you’re reading this, you’re already part of the resistance. You believe in truth. In justice. In dragging the roaches of corruption into the light. But let me be brutally honest: I can’t do this without you. This isn't just another newsletter; it's a war cry. A movement. A battering ram aimed at the liars, the grifters, and the authoritarian wannabes hijacking our democracy. And we need to grow this platform into a voice so loud, so relentless, that they can’t spin it, silence it, or shut it down. I’m calling on you; not passively asking, but urgently demanding, to fuel this fight. We are the last line of defense between democracy and dictatorship. And yes; as a small token of my appreciation, the first 240 Founding Members will receive a signed, numbered, limited Substack edition of my New York Times bestseller, Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized the U.S. Department of Justice Against His Critics. It’s not just a collector’s item. It’s a declaration of where you stood when history came calling. But this isn’t about a book. This is about defiance. About refusing to be gaslit. About locking arms and shouting back at the madness. Here’s how you can raise your voice: Become a supporter today. Forward this post to people who won’t sit on the sidelines. Bring your crew. Grow this community. Be the megaphone. You want to make a difference? This is your moment. Rise up. Speak out. Show up. Because if we don’t fight for truth; no one will. And if we do it together? They’ll never drown us out. Let’s be impossible to ignore. Let’s be un-fucking-breakable. Join now. Share widely. Let’s go. You're currently a free subscriber to Michael Cohen. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.