Why 200,000 Americans Want to Join ICE: Big Bonuses, Six-Figure Pay and a Mission to Deport Criminals

The Department of Homeland Security announced this week that more than 200,000 Americans have applied to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement since the Trump administration launched an unprecedented recruitment campaign in July, offering signing bonuses up to £39,000, student loan forgiveness and salaries that can exceed six figures with overtime.

'Our country is calling you to serve at ICE', declared DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, pitching the jobs as a patriotic mission to remove 'the worst of the worst criminals' from American streets. The administration says ICE has arrested murderers, gang members, paedophiles and rapists, pointing to recent operations that netted individuals with serious criminal convictions.

A Record Recruitment Drive Backed by Billions

However, the surge in applications comes as immigration advocates warn that ICE's documented history of abuses, family separations and preventable deaths in detention facilities raises serious concerns about rapidly expanding an agency already facing accountability crises.

The recruitment push, funded by Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill which allocated £59 billion to ICE over four years, removed age limits for applicants and now requires no university degree. Entry-level deportation officers can earn between £39,000 and £70,000 annually, with additional 25 per cent Law Enforcement Availability Pay for investigators, performance bonuses and enhanced retirement benefits.

For comparison, the US Army's signing bonuses rarely exceed £16,000, making ICE one of the most lucrative federal law enforcement opportunities available.

DHS claims the new agents are needed to fulfil Trump's pledge to deport approximately one million immigrants annually. However, critics question whether the breakneck hiring pace allows for proper vetting, particularly given ICE's troubled institutional history.

Warnings Over Vetting and Corruption Risks

During the last major immigration enforcement expansion under President George W Bush, corruption allegations rose 44 per cent between 2007 and 2012, according to the American Immigration Council. Some employees were allegedly linked to cartels and criminal gangs which had sought to infiltrate border agencies.

More troubling is ICE's record on human rights. The National Immigrant Justice Centre documented that 95 per cent of 52 deaths in ICE detention between 2017 and 2021 were likely preventable with adequate medical care. Twelve people died by apparent suicide in ICE custody between 2017 and 2020, with reports detailing medical neglect, inadequate mental health services and systematic health endangerment.

Old Scars Resurface: ICE's Human Rights Record Under Scrutiny

The first Trump administration's family separation policy remains one of the most controversial chapters in ICE's history. Between 2017 and 2018, the agency separated thousands of children from their parents, with an estimated 1,400 children still not reunited with families by 2024. Inspector General investigations found the policy inflicted 'unspeakable trauma' on children, some as young as 18 months old.

Family separations have continued under Trump's second term. CNN found that more than 100 US citizen children have been left stranded by ICE enforcement actions this year alone, with some children as young as eight left to care for younger siblings after their parents were deported. In one case, a 15-year-old became sole caretaker for his brothers aged eight and nine when their mother was arrested and deported to Mexico within three days.

The administration has revoked sensitive locations guidance that previously prevented enforcement in hospitals, schools and churches, whilst expanding expedited removal to anyone encountered anywhere in the United States who arrived within the last two years, bypassing usual legal processes.