ICE Announces ‘Most Successful’ Recruitment Campaign in US History

ICE said it was offering ‘unparalleled’ incentives to recruits, including a signing bonus of up to $50,000.

Protesters block ICE vans during a confrontation with ICE over a purported enforcement operation on Canal Street in New York City on Nov. 29, 2025. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) received more than 220,000 applications for more than 10,000 open positions at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ICE said in a statement on Dec. 18.

DHS has officially hired 11,751 law enforcement officers, attorneys, criminal investigators, and mission support staff, the agency said. This is the “most successful federal law enforcement agency recruitment campaign in American history,” the agency said.

DHS launched the ICE “Defend the Homeland” recruitment drive on July 29. The recruitment effort is backed by funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), signed into law by President Donald Trump in July, which allocates $170 billion to border security and immigration enforcement initiatives.

OBBB had granted ICE $76.5 billion, of which $30 billion was to be used to hire 10,000 additional staff members.

In a Dec. 18 post on X, ICE said it hit its goal of hiring more than 10,000 personnel in less than a year.

ICE Deputy Director Madison D. Sheahan praised the OBBB for providing the agency with necessary resources to enforce immigration law “as it’s been written and codified by Congress.”

“The president and Secretary Noem set a goal, and we exceeded it, but that doesn’t mean we’re done. We continue to call on American patriots to serve the homeland because we know that there’s still more work to do—and we will not stop until every community in this nation is safe,” Sheahan said, referring to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

ICE said it was offering “unparalleled” incentives to recruits, including a signing bonus of up to $50,000, up to $60,000 in student loan repayment, and an attractive benefits package that includes health insurance, paid federal holidays, and a retirement plan.

Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced new recruitment and retention incentives on Dec. 18 to attract skilled individuals to key law enforcement positions in the agency.

CBP is offering new border patrol agents up to $60,000 in incentives, with current agents eligible for up to $50,000 in retention incentives, the agency said.

New Air and Marine agents can become eligible for up to $10,000 in signing bonuses once they complete academy training. Both new and current agents are also eligible for retention incentives of up to 25 percent of their salary.

For new CBP officers in the Office of Field Operations who sign up for hard-to-fill and most difficult-to-fill locations, incentives of up to $60,000 are being offered. Experienced supervisors and officers eligible to retire in certain locations also may qualify for up to $60,000 in retention incentives.

“CBP is committed to recruiting and retaining top talent for our critical mission,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said.

“By offering competitive incentives, we are investing in skilled professionals who will help secure America’s borders and advance national security.”

The strong recruitment numbers come despite immigration enforcement officers facing unprecedented violence against them. On Dec. 12, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said that officers were facing an 8,000 percent increase in death threats along with a 1,150 percent increase in assaults.

Federal Immigration Enforcement

Democrats have criticized ICE and CBP for their part in federal immigration enforcement.

This month, a group of Democratic senators introduced the “Accountability for Federal Law Enforcement Act,” which seeks to grant individuals the right to sue law enforcement agencies and officers in civil court for any constitutional or civil violations, according to a Dec. 15 statement from the office of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

This right to sue will be made available to all individuals in the United States “regardless of citizenship,” it said.

“For months, ICE and CBP officers have terrorized communities across the country, deploying violent and excessive tactics against immigrants, U.S. citizens, journalists, and bystanders alike with no accountability,” Padilla said.

“These abuses of individuals’ constitutional rights without consequence shatter public trust and stoke fear among hardworking members of our communities.”

DHS says ICE arrests target illegal immigrants with a history of criminal activities and has recently launched a website to boost transparency regarding the arrests.

DHS operates the website, “Worst of the Worst,” which allows users to search, based on location, for criminal illegal immigrants who have been arrested and removed from communities. On Dec. 18, the agency said it had added another 5,000 criminal illegal immigrants to the growing list of 15,000 profiles on the website.

“This new update represents just a small sample of the total number of arrests we’ve made—70 percent of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens that have been charged or convicted of a crime in the United States,” McLaughlin said.