The Department of Homeland Security is running a full-court press with recruitment and is dropping the age requirement for immigration agents, opening the door for more Americans to help tackle the illegal immigration crisis.
“In less than one week since DHS launched its recruitment campaign, more than 80,000 Americans applied to join ICE,” a Wednesday statement from the department’s website read.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is now waiving age limits for new applicants “so even more patriots will qualify to join ICE in its mission to arrest murderers, pedophiles, gang members, rapists, and other criminal illegal aliens from America’s streets.”
“All ICE law enforcement recruits will be required to go through medical screening, drug screening, and complete a physical fitness test,” the statement continued.
“We are ENDING the age cap for ICE law enforcement,” Noem added.
The Trump administration attributed this move to “Biden’s open borders disaster” and said the nation needs more “dedicated Americans to join ICE to remove the worst of the worst out of our country.”
The initiative is backed by substantial federal funding from President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” and provides a hefty incentive package.
Some of the perks include a maximum $50,000 signing bonus, student loan repayment and forgiveness options, Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime — or AUI — for enforcement removal operations deportation officers, and enhanced retirement benefits.
Anyone interested can apply at JOIN.ICE.GOV.
Would you work for ICE if offered a position?
This kind of policy initiative shows that the current administration understands how important public cooperation is, especially if Trump officials hope to carry out their ambitious immigration mission.
It also highlights how badly America’s immigration system deteriorated under President Joe Biden and former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Mayorkas was so ineffective at his job that he became the first cabinet member in almost 150 years to be impeached by the House of Representatives.
No wonder we need to call in private citizens for backup.
The millions of illegals who’ve crossed over through our southern border cannot be shouldered by the federal government alone.
Noem also appeared on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday to applaud the 80,000 new applicants, saying, “People and patriots across this country that say ‘we want to join, we want to help and be a part of this effort’ — It’s overwhelming to see the amount of response and support that our ICE officers have gotten, and people who want to join their ranks.”
‘PATRIOTS’: @Sec_Noem says ICE has received 80,000 applicants as the agency aims to fill 10,000 new officer positions pic.twitter.com/nQVkmIEWDN
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) August 6, 2025
This announcement comes after news broke this week about Florida considering another “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility.
If the citizenry and state governments continue to fight illegal immigration head-on, the U.S. might have a chance to restore order, reduce crime, properly reallocate resources, and set a strong precedent. No one can sneak into the country without consequences.
Fixing the immigration system was arguably Trump’s biggest promise, dating all the way back to 2015, when he declared his candidacy for president.
Such an endeavor requires an outside-the-box approach and demands a broad coalition. It’s reassuring to see the White House thinking critically about the issue and exploring every avenue to help steer this ship back on course.
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