Posted on 09/30/2026 9:12:44 AM PDT by Signalman
Four people familiar with the hiring plans told The New York Times about the push. ICE had about 29,000 employees in July, according to federal data cited by the paper, roughly 8,000 more than when Trump took office. Meeting the new hiring goal would add another 17 percent to the workforce.
Some agents have been under pressure to work seven days a week. They’re making arrests and managing cases, and ICE wants thousands more officers to share that workload. Congress has already approved the funding. Seven-day workweeks are a pretty good argument for using it to get more people hired.
DHS says the new positions come from that congressional funding and are separate from replacing employees who left after the earlier hiring surge. The agency has money available to expand the deportation operation. Use it.
More than 3,000 employees left ICE in the first half of 2026, a count that includes firings, resignations, and retirements. Nearly 12,000 full-time employees were hired between January 2025 and June 2026. Those numbers don’t establish that the hiring effort failed. People retire. Others leave. And when a recruit turns out to be unfit for the job, ICE should show him the door.
Hundreds of recruits from the last surge were removed by spring. Correcting a bad hire beats keeping one. ICE also has nearly 7,500 employees waiting for full background checks, with limited work permitted in the meantime. The agency needs to finish those checks for the officers who will be working alongside these recruits. They’re the ones who have to depend on them during an arrest. DHS says it will maintain rigorous standards. ICE has every reason to follow through.
For a look at the work already being done, DHS’s September 29 arrest announcement is a useful place to start. Secretary Markwayne Mullin said:
“Day after day, the brave men and women of ICE are removing the worst of the worst from American communities. Just yesterday, ICE arrested killers, rapists, and thieves.”
Ciro Valle-Robles of Mexico was on that arrest list, with convictions for rape and forgery in Goshen, New York. DHS also named Lazaro Rego-Otano of Cuba, listing convictions for sexual battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery in Miami. There are two very good reasons to support the officers making these arrests. Leaving either man in the community hardly sounds like the better option.
Mullin added: “Under President Trump, we will always put the safety of the American people first. We are sending a very clear message: Illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”
Dallas ICE personnel recalled in June how they rescued wounded detainees during the 2025 sniper attack. They were risking their own lives.
The officers working seven days a week have earned some backup. Congress provided the money, and ICE has another 5,000 positions to fill. Vet them right, get them trained, and put them to work. The deportations Trump promised aren't going to carry themselves out.
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They BETTER be VERY CAREFUL about who they hire!! There could be a lot of SABATEURS wanting those jobs to RUIN TRUMP and ICE!!
Didn’t I just read an article saying they were laying off ICE recruits and were having trouble deciding how to pay their hire-on bonuses since they were getting let go?
The MSM- we don’t hate them enough.
If I were 25 years younger, I’d love to be an ICE agent
Also, a nice PR rollout about the Supreme Court allowing us to send these people to any country that will take them is a win. Many counties don't want their criminals back... This information about the recent Supreme Court decision could help illegals choose to voluntarily leave... so they can go to their 'home' country.
So many families will enjoy the holidays catching up loved ones they haven’t seen in years
If we didn’t have so many illegals, we wouldn’t need to spend the money for more hires. That’s what DOGE was created for and The U.S. Office of Personnel Management does.
wy69
I wish I was younger so I could join ICE.
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