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The strength of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) grew by 120% after the hiring of 12,000 agents, exceeding the goal of 10,000 set by the administration of President Donald Trump, announced this Monday the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
With this, ICE will total 22,000 immigration agents, more than double the previous 10,000, following the massive recruitment campaign that attracted 220,000 applications, according to the DHS.
Hiring occurs after the funds from the "great and beautiful law" that President Trump signed last year and that, according to specialists, will turn ICE into the largest security agency in the United States, with an estimated budget of 75 billion dollars, higher than that of almost all the world's armies.
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"12,000 newly hired ICE officers are being deployed to communities across our nation. Thanks to President Trump's great and beautiful law, ICE's force is up 120% to support operations, arrests, investigations, and removals," wrote DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on X this Monday. Thousands of these agents are already "deployed nationwide and actively supporting operations," detailed the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS stated last year, before the approval of Trump's legislation, that there would be almost 30 billion dollars for operations, which will allow to hire 10,000 ICE agents and reach a rate of one million deportations annually. To incentivize hiring, in addition to bonuses, DHS eliminated the age limits for ICE agents in August, who now only need to be over 18 years old, as they previously had to be a minimum of 21 years old and a maximum of 37 or 40, depending on the position they were applying for. Last July, the DHS launched its national recruitment campaign for ICE, 'Defend the Homeland,' with ads that have aired on music and television streaming platforms, according to RollingStone magazine. Hiring occurs amid reports from human rights and immigrant advocacy organizations about an increase in alleged cases of ICE abuse, including arrests of people who are U.S. citizens, as well as the excessive use of force during the detention of immigrants.
