Overview
- Officials say more than 12,000 officers and agents were hired from over 220,000 applicants, surpassing ICE’s original one-year goal of 10,000 hires.
- Recruitment incentives included signing bonuses up to $50,000, expanded student loan repayment, removal of age caps, and use of direct-hire authority.
- DHS says many new personnel are already in the field as training was compressed from roughly six months to about six weeks, with FLETC prioritizing ICE classes.
- The DHS inspector general has opened a review of ICE’s hiring and training to evaluate preparedness and accountability.
- As 2026 began, DHS highlighted arrests of several criminal noncitizens, presenting early operational results linked to the expanded force.