By Naveen Athrappully
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) saw a 120 percent jump in workforce following an “unprecedented” nationwide recruitment campaign that “shattered expectations” after 12,000 employees and officers were hired in a few months, the agency said in a statement on Jan. 3.
“After receiving more than 220,000 applications from patriotic Americans to join ICE, the agency blew past its original hiring target of 10,000 new officers and agents within a year,” the statement said.
“In fact, it has more than doubled ICE personnel from 10,000 to 22,000. With these new patriots on the team, ICE will be able to accomplish what many said was impossible and fulfill President Trump’s promise to make America safe again.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched ICE’s “Defend the Homeland” recruitment drive on July 29, 2025. The effort is backed by funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), signed into law by President Donald Trump in July.
OBBB allocated ICE $76.5 billion, roughly 10 times the agency’s typical annual budget, out of which $30 billion was set aside for hiring 10,000 additional staff members, with ICE aiming to deport 1 million illegal immigrants from the United States every year.
ICE offered attractive incentives for new recruits, including up to $50,000 in signing bonuses, student loan repayment and forgiveness options, and enhanced retirement benefits.
In its latest statement, ICE said that thousands of newly hired agents and officers have already been deployed nationwide and are actively supporting enforcement operations, including investigations, arrests, and removals.
“The accelerated hiring tempo has allowed ICE to place officers in the field faster than any previous recruitment effort in the agency’s history,” the agency said.
According to ICE, the recruitment initiative used data-driven outreach to hire qualified, patriotic Americans, resulting in the agency exceeding its hiring target.
“Thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill that President Trump signed, we have an additional 12,000 ICE officers and agents on the ground across the country,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
The Trump administration’s immigration employee recruitment efforts have faced criticism from Democrats. On Nov. 20, a group of Democratic senators wrote a letter to DHS, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials, raising concerns about hiring standards and training protocols at the agencies.
“For decades, federal law enforcement officers have been held to the highest eligibility standards, often exceeding those of state and local agencies, and have undergone a stringent vetting process. Once hired, they have received extensive training to ensure they meet baseline performance standards required for law enforcement,” the letter said.
“By all accounts, since the beginning of this year, DHS, ICE, and CBP have dropped the eligibility criteria and training requirements to dangerously low levels, creating the potential for a poorly trained force consisting of thousands of new officers, deployed in communities across America, with the legal authority to use deadly force.”
The senators said that strong recruitment standards and rigorous training are critical to preparing officers for their jobs and to build public confidence.
In a Dec. 19 statement, DHS said that the department has had a “historic” year under the Trump administration, removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens and securing America’s borders.
Hundreds of thousands of criminal illegal immigrants have been arrested and deported, including drug traffickers, rapists, and kidnappers. DHS has removed more than 622,000 illegal immigrants from the country, while around 1.9 million have self-deported, according to the department.
“In less than a year, President Trump has delivered some of the most historic and consequential achievements in presidential history—and this Administration is just getting started,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are making America safe again and putting the American people first. In record time, we have secured the border, taken the fight to cartels, and arrested thousands upon thousands of criminal illegal aliens. Though 2025 was historic, we won’t rest until the job is done.”
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