The agency responsible for enforcing Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies is recruiting “brave and heroic Americans” to serve as deportation officers, investigators, and lawyers. The government is expanding immigration enforcement, thanks to a recent influx of funding from Congress. Applicants can expect a $50,000 signing bonus as part of the recruitment campaign. The campaign’s imagery and language evoke wartime recruiting posters, with photos of Uncle Sam and U.S. president and homeland security officials. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urges citizens to serve and protect the country, deeming this moment in U.S. history significant and essential for skills and courage.
In addition to patriotic appeal, the department is advertising the potential for financial benefits, including retirement plans and education loan repayment options. This massive hire is made possible by a $170 billion increase in border security and immigration enforcement funds over five years, with ICE receiving almost $76.5 billion of this amount, nearly ten times its current annual budget. This investment will allow ICE to expand its workforce by 10,000 people to meet their goal of one million annual deportations.
Critics have raised concerns about the potential consequences of such rapid expansion, citing the risk of lowering recruitment standards and increasing the risk of staff misconduct. The recruitment page features images of ICE vehicles and officers in military gear. The initiative also targets lawyers and criminal investigators to prosecute immigration cases. Recruitment will take place on college campuses, job fairs, and within law enforcement networks, but there are concerns that such aggressive hiring could affect other law enforcement agencies negatively, as they may lose officers to the higher-paying ICE positions.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/30/ice-hiring-incentives-signing-bonuses
