ICE is now the law enforcement agency with the biggest budget. This is worrying for our democracy. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is working hard to hire more people for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They want more agents to carry out President Trump’s tough immigration policies. To do this, ICE is running many ads on streaming services like HBO Max and Hulu.
On the Join.ICE.gov website, there is a picture of Uncle Sam with the headline “America Needs You.” Below it says, “America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out.” This message sounds scary and urgent.
ICE is also lowering its hiring requirements. Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said they would remove the age limit, so people over 40 and as young as 18 can join ICE.
Besides making it easier to join, ICE is offering money to attract new agents. Their website says new hires could get signing bonuses up to $50,000, up to $60,000 to help pay off student loans, and 25% extra pay.
This recruiting effort is working. One new high-profile agent is Dean Cain, a 59-year-old actor who once played Superman on TV and supports Trump. He said on social media that he wants to be an ICE officer to “save America.”
It’s ironic that Superman — literally an alien from outer space — is now working for ICE, an agency targeting undocumented immigrants.
Jokes aside, this hiring push seems political. ICE used to require workers to have a college degree, but now they don’t. Many arrests are made by officers in plain clothes and masks, not uniforms.
Today, the only real requirements to join ICE seem to be wanting to support Trump’s immigration crackdown.
It feels like the president is building a loyal force of supporters — and he has the money to do it. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” set aside nearly $170 billion for immigration and border security. Out of that, $75 billion went just to ICE, making it the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the U.S. government.
To compare, ICE now gets more money and resources than most national armies. It is quickly becoming the biggest police force inside the country, twice as large as the FBI.
It looks like the Trump administration is growing ICE into a powerful force that answers mostly to the president, with fewer rules and less oversight from democracy.
