I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is a Sunday story from up first, where we go beyond the news of the day to bring you one big story.

President Trump campaigned on a promise of mass deportations, and since he took office in January,

agents from immigration and customs enforcement, also known as ICE, have been increasing detentions to try to meet that goal.

In July, Congress approved $170 billion for immigration and border enforcement,

$75 billion of which will go directly to ICE.

It's the most money the U.S. government has ever invested in detention and deportation, and it

makes ICE the highest funded law enforcement agency in the federal government.

All this prompted our friends over at NPR's ThruLine podcast to take a look back at the history

of ICE, from the original intent of the agency to its evolution as a law enforcement

powerhouse. The episode features two people who've spent decades working on opposite sides of

the immigration system. You know, I think there's a, to keep the system fair, it has to be well

regulated. Roger Werner is currently employed by the Department of Homeland

Security. He's worked there since the department was created in 2003, and he was a founding

member of ICE. He's also the co-author of the book, The History and Evolution of Homeland Security

in the United States. The views he expresses are his own.

He's not speaking as representative of the government.

They also talk to Peter Markowitz.

I'm a professor at Cardozo School of Law in New York City.

Markowitz founded the Catherine O'Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic,

where he defends immigrants facing deportation and works on policy.

In the throughline episode, Werner and Markowitz take listeners through the fascinating history of

ICE, starting from his origins as the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or the INS,

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