The One Big Beautiful Bill Act allocated $30 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hire 10,000 additional staff.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received over 150,000 applications from citizens looking to join the agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a Sept. 16 statement.
“We have already issued more than 18,000 tentative job offers. Americans are answering their country’s call to serve and help remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, terrorists, and gang members from our country,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
DHS said that ICE is offering a “robust” package of joining incentives, including a signing bonus of up to $50,000, enhanced retirement benefits, and student loan repayment and forgiveness options.
The ICE recruitment drive, “Defend the Homeland,” was launched by the DHS on July 29. At present, the agency employs approximately 20,000 law enforcement and support personnel across some 400 offices in the United States and internationally.
ICE’s recruitment drive is backed by funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that allocated $170 billion for border security and immigration enforcement over a five-year period.
ICE was granted $76.5 billion, almost 10 times the agency’s typical annual budget.
Out of that, $30 billion will go towards hiring 10,000 more staff members, with the agency aiming to deport a million people annually.
In a Sept. 19 statement, DHS said that a recent career expo in Provo, Utah, was a “resounding success,” with over 1,500 people registering for career opportunities.
“In the first day alone, DHS extended more than 370 tentative job offers for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers. In total, DHS extended almost 500 tentative job offers, and we anticipate additional selections in the near future with over 200 more completed applications received,” Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, said.
A similar ICE job fair in Dallas, Texas, last month was also a success. Despite protests at the site against the agency and the Trump administration, the applicant flow did not stop.
