175,000 Americans apply to join ICE in major recruitment surge

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that 175,000 Americans have applied to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration across the United States.

During an interview on a Wednesday episode of “The Alex Marlow Show,” Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin announced that 175,000 Americans have applied for ICE positions. McLaughlin noted that the Trump administration is currently offering up to $50,000 in sign-on bonuses for individuals joining ICE. 

“It really is encouraging to see that patriots see through the charade of the media, they want to enforce the rule of law, and they want to protect our homeland,” McLaughlin told Alex Marlow.

“They saw how the last four years, this nation was brought to its knees with this scourge of illegal immigration, and they want to protect their communities and where they come from,” McLaughlin added. “So, we’re encouraging more patriots; it’s a very rewarding job.”

In response to Marlow citing White House Border Czar Tom Homan’s estimate of roughly 20 million illegal immigrants in the United States, McLaughlin said the Trump administration knows there is a “mountain” of work to do to increase the number of illegal immigrant deportations. 

“We need to get these [deportation] numbers up, and then rest assured, Congress has given us this funding from that one big, beautiful bill to be hiring more than 10,000 new ICE enforcement officers,” McLaughlin stated. “I know about 5,000 have been hired, so we’re certainly on our way, but we expect those numbers to rise.”

The Department of Homeland Security previously announced that Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” provides $165 billion in funding for the department, including funding for 10,000 additional ICE agents.

According to The Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security has spent $6.5 million on recruitment advertisements on television and podcast programs.

Addressing the increase of ICE deportations and illegal immigrants choosing to self-deport in light of the Trump administration’s efforts to expand ICE operations, McLaughlin told Marlow, “It’s also a vicious cycle. When you have more arrests, you’re going to have more self deportations, because the message is going to get out to those in this country illegally: ‘You will be arrested, there will be consequences, you won’t be able to return, so get out now while you still have the shot.’”