Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been inundated with applications in the two weeks since it launched a major recruitment campaign.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday morning that ICE has received 100,000 applications in less than 15 days from “patriotic Americans who want to help remove murderers, gang members, pedophiles, and terrorists” from the United States.
“Our country is calling you to serve at ICE,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “In the wake of the Biden administration’s failed immigration policies, your country needs dedicated men and women of ICE to get the worst of the worst criminals out of our country. This is a defining moment in our nation’s history. Your skills, your experience, and your courage have never been more essential. Together, we must defend the homeland. JOIN.ICE.GOV.”
In order to attract more recruits, ICE lifted age restrictions on hiring. Previously, applicants were limited to a minimum age of 21 and could be no older than 37 or 40, depending on the position. As a result, Dean Cain, the Superman actor, announced in a video that he had joined the federal agency at age 59.
The ICE website implores U.S. citizens to join the agency and help the Trump administration‘s mass deportation efforts, arresting, detaining, and removing illegal immigrants from the country.
The website draws on the character legend Uncle Sam, with a graphic showing the famous figure pointing at the viewer and capital letters at the top of the page that read “AMERICA NEEDS YOU.”
ICE is hiring for three primary jobs: deportation officer, criminal investigator, and general attorney.
New hires will be eligible for a one-time bonus of up to $50,000, up to $60,000 in student loan repayment, and other incentives related to time off, retirement, and overtime, according to Noem.
The rollout comes weeks after Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will allow ICE to hire 10,000 more federal law enforcement officers and agents to carry out its congressionally mandated mission of enforcing immigration laws within the U.S.
OKLAHOMA EMPTYING PRISONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN BUDDING ICE PARTNERSHIP
Since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, the Border Patrol, Secret Service, and Coast Guard agencies have been flooded with applications, the Washington Examiner reported in July.
Between January and May, the Border Patrol received nearly 35,000 applications, up 44% from the same period in 2024. Applications for the Secret Service topped 30,500 in the same period.