Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said job interest across the Department of Homeland Security has jumped sharply, claiming that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement received more than 220,000 applications as the agency looks to fill roughly 10,000 openings.
Noem made the comments in a Fox News interview that aired Sunday while discussing morale inside DHS and the enforcement operations overseen by former acting ICE Director Tom Homan. She said recruiting momentum is up across multiple agencies, including ICE, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the U.S. Secret Service.
“They’re so proud to work for a president that is strong, that is decisive, and that wants to make America safe and enforce our laws again,” Noem said. “At ICE, we had over 220,000 applications for 10,000 openings.”
She added that USCIS has received “tens of thousands” of applications, and said applications to the Secret Service have “more than doubled.”
Noem credited the spike in interest to the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda and DHS’s broader mission. “A country with no borders is no country at all,” she said, arguing that Americans “deserve safety on their streets” and that the federal government must protect critical infrastructure.
The interview also addressed deportation operations and criticism from Democrats who have called for her resignation. Noem pushed back on what she described as misleading media coverage of deportation efforts, saying enforcement actions are being carried out within the department’s legal authority.
DHS oversees 23 agencies, including ICE, Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Secret Service. Noem said the department remains focused on border security, immigration enforcement, and disaster response.
