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Who Wants to Work for ICE? They Do.
In a very quiet way, this article is quite terrifying.
— Molly McKew (@mollymckew.bsky.social) 2025-08-29T02:14:57.329Z
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
ICE’s pitch for meaning and purpose seemed to draw in many of the applicants I met. Some were military veterans with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan who told me they longed for the camaraderie and sense of belonging they once had. Others said they were bored, or wanted to serve the country, or fill a hole in their life left by a failed marriage or the creeping regrets they felt in middle age after screwing up in their 20s.
snip
The Trump administration plans to hire, train, and deploy 10,000 new ICE officers by the beginning of next year, a frantic pace that would nearly triple the current workforce. The Department of Homeland Security is set to spend more than $40 million in the next several months on ICE recruitment, even as the department says it’s already received 130,000 applications. ICE had advertised same-day offers to qualified candidates, especially those with prior military service or law-enforcement experience, and a $50,000 bonus to sweeten the pot. In the parking lot were license plates from New Mexico, Tennessee, and as far away as New Jersey. Hundreds of applicants began lining up before the doors opened at 8 a.m., many in suits, with résumés and diplomas in hand.
snip
“ICE career expos are an opportunity for patriotic Americans who want to help remove the worst of the worst from our country,” the DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told me in an emailed statement.
snip
Trump’s funding bill set a goal of 1 million deportations a year Despite a fourfold increase in immigration arrests in U.S. cities and communities, ICE is not on pace to meet that goal, with the latest data showing the agency on track for about 300,000 deportations during the 2025 fiscal year, which ends in September. The hiring surge will put Trump in position next year to deploy teams in far more Democratic-led “sanctuary” cities that limit police cooperation with ICE.
snip
ICE has about 5,700 deportation officers nationwide. New entry-level jobs will pay roughly $70,000 to $90,000 a year, including overtime and cost-of-living adjustments, officials told me. Within Department of Homeland Security agencies, mass-hiring binges are viewed warily, and the rapid expansion of the U.S. Border Patrol a generation ago is still regarded as a cautionary tale. The Border Patrol lowered its hiring standards and ended up with more cases of employee misconduct and corruption.
snip
The Trump administration plans to hire, train, and deploy 10,000 new ICE officers by the beginning of next year, a frantic pace that would nearly triple the current workforce. The Department of Homeland Security is set to spend more than $40 million in the next several months on ICE recruitment, even as the department says it’s already received 130,000 applications. ICE had advertised same-day offers to qualified candidates, especially those with prior military service or law-enforcement experience, and a $50,000 bonus to sweeten the pot. In the parking lot were license plates from New Mexico, Tennessee, and as far away as New Jersey. Hundreds of applicants began lining up before the doors opened at 8 a.m., many in suits, with résumés and diplomas in hand.
snip
“ICE career expos are an opportunity for patriotic Americans who want to help remove the worst of the worst from our country,” the DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told me in an emailed statement.
snip
Trump’s funding bill set a goal of 1 million deportations a year Despite a fourfold increase in immigration arrests in U.S. cities and communities, ICE is not on pace to meet that goal, with the latest data showing the agency on track for about 300,000 deportations during the 2025 fiscal year, which ends in September. The hiring surge will put Trump in position next year to deploy teams in far more Democratic-led “sanctuary” cities that limit police cooperation with ICE.
snip
ICE has about 5,700 deportation officers nationwide. New entry-level jobs will pay roughly $70,000 to $90,000 a year, including overtime and cost-of-living adjustments, officials told me. Within Department of Homeland Security agencies, mass-hiring binges are viewed warily, and the rapid expansion of the U.S. Border Patrol a generation ago is still regarded as a cautionary tale. The Border Patrol lowered its hiring standards and ended up with more cases of employee misconduct and corruption.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/08/ice-recruiting-texas-immigration-trump/684039/?gift=ckC4EU0fG_ncBmqSDjzmvZq4uUIxHrXtxu1YdZey5pk&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
17 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220575835
But it all sounds like the recruitment in Blazing Saddles.
Blame Mel Brooks if any of this offends you.
But it all sounds like the recruitment in Blazing Saddles.
Blame Mel Brooks if any of this offends you.
“But they didn’t knowwwww,” or “They had no choice.” 
Imagine putting your kids and grands in the position of having to explain this choice.
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