Why 200,000 Americans Want to Join ICE: Big Bonuses, Six-Figure Pay and a Mission to Deport Criminals

ICE’s unprecedented recruitment campaign has drawn more than 200,000 applicants with promises of high pay and loan forgiveness. (Credit: US Immigration and Custom Enforcement/Flickr)

The Department of Homeland Security announced this week that more than 200,000 Americans have applied to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement since the Trump administration launched an unprecedented recruitment campaign in July, offering signing bonuses up to £39,000, student loan forgiveness and salaries that can exceed six figures with overtime.

'Our country is calling you to serve at ICE', declared DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, pitching the jobs as a patriotic mission to remove 'the worst of the worst criminals' from American streets. The administration says ICE has arrested murderers, gang members, paedophiles and rapists, pointing to recent operations that netted individuals with serious criminal convictions.