ICE agents arrest an alleged illegal immigrant during an operation in Baltimore, Md., on Nov. 22, 2019. ICE
The Department for Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday removed age limits for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recruits, as it aims to expand hiring following a boost in funding from Congress.
DHS said that it will waive the age limits “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 recruits will be required to go through medical and drug screening, as well as complete a physical fitness test.
The previous age requirements said applicants must be at least 21 years old and no older than 37 or 40, depending on the position being applied for.
DHS said the recruitment efforts are needed to remove criminal illegal immigrants who had entered the country in the wake of what it called former President Joe Biden’s “open borders disaster.”
The department promoted the removal of the age limits on social media, posting on X a graphic showing an older and a younger man both wearing tactical gear, writing, “We’re taking father/son bonding to a whole new level.”
ICE, the agency responsible for arresting and removing people who are illegally in the United States, posted on X, “You spoke, we listened and we took action – the age cap for joining ICE has now been REMOVED.”
“We must Defend the Homeland,” ICE said, in reference to DHS’s initiative dubbed “Defend the Homeland.”
Launched on July 29, Defend the Homeland is a nationwide recruitment drive encouraging Americans to join ICE and “remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from America’s streets.”
The funding for the new recruits will come from the recently signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which gives ICE money to fund the hiring of 10,000 more staff.
In total, the bill sets aside about $170 billion for border security and immigration enforcement over five years, including $76.5 billion for ICE alone—nearly 10 times the agency’s current annual budget. Of that amount, $45 billion will expand detention capacity, and nearly $30 billion will fund the hiring of additional ICE personnel to help the agency reach its target of 1 million deportations a year.
80,000 Applications
DHS said on Wednesday that in less than a week since it launched its recruitment campaign, more than 80,000 Americans have applied to join the agency at the center of the Trump administration’s deportation operations.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” that applicants could be as young as 18.
“We’ve removed any of the age barriers. We no longer have a cap on how old you can be,” she said.
Noem said that recruitment efforts so far have been “extremely successful.”
“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,” she said, urging Americans to sign up to be “part of this team that is helping make America safe again with President [Donald] Trump.”
Incentives for joining ICE include signing bonuses of up to $50,000 and student loan forgiveness.
Border Czar Tom Homan said last month that the influx of funding will allow ICE to dramatically increase arrests, with new staff and detention space aimed at targeting the most dangerous offenders.
“Now, ICE finally is getting the resources they need. And it’s going to put more boots on the ground, which we need right now,” Homan told reporters during a July 7 White House briefing, noting that more than 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records remain in the country.
In one of its recent announcements on arrests, ICE said on Tuesday that it had detained “more worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” including those convicted of homicide, rape, and sexually assaulting a child.
The Associated Press and Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
