US Offers Up to $50,000 Bonus to Attract ICE Deportation Officers

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is offering signing bonuses of up to $50,000 and student loan assistance as it seeks to recruit thousands of new employees to support the Trump administration’s expanded deportation agenda.

ICE is aiming to double its workforce, with plans to hire 10,000 new personnel, including deportation officers, attorneys, criminal investigators, student visa adjudicators, and other roles.

The recruitment effort is part of a larger initiative funded by approximately $165 billion allocated to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through President Trump’s recently signed tax and spending bill.

Patriotic-Themed Campaign

The new recruitment campaign, launched on 29 July, features posters reminiscent of World War II-era military ads with slogans like “America Needs You” and “Defend the Homeland.” The posters showcase figures such as Uncle Sam, President Trump, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“Your country is calling you to serve at ICE,” Noem said. “This is a defining moment in our nation’s history.”

In addition to signing bonuses, ICE is offering:

Up to $60,000 in student loan repayment and forgiveness
Overtime opportunities
Enhanced retirement benefits

This comes as millions of Americans enrolled in a Biden-era student loan relief program begin seeing interest accumulate on their loans again.

Job Details and Pay

New deportation officers will assist in identifying, apprehending, and processing undocumented migrants for removal. Annual salaries range from $49,739 to $89,528, depending on qualifications and experience. A recruitment image shows heavily armed officers in an armored vehicle.

Currently, ICE employs 20,000 personnel across 400 offices nationwide.

Massive Funding Boost

ICE’s recruitment push follows the signing of the “One, Big, Beautiful” tax and spending bill, which allocated more than $76 billion to the agency—nearly 10 times its previous funding—making it the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency.

President Trump and other administration officials say the goal is to ramp up deportations to one million per year. So far, roughly 150,000 people have been deported in the administration’s first six months, with projections showing up to 300,000 deportations by year-end—still below the stated target.

Concerns Over Standards

Former ICE Chief of Staff Jason Houser told the Associated Press that while the agency does need more staff, he’s concerned the hiring push could lower recruitment standards.

“If they start waiving requirements there like they did for Border Patrol, you’re going to have an exponential increase in officers that are shown the door after three years because there’s some issue,” Houser said.

It’s still unclear how many applicants have responded to the job postings. The BBC has reached out to both ICE and DHS for comment.