$50K Bonus, Student Loan Relief: ICE Hiring Drive Fuels Trump’s Crackdown On Illegals

Last Updated:August 03, 2025, 17:30 IST

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun a new recruitment campaign to enforce Trump's aggressive plans to deport illegal immigrants.

The heavy-handed approach by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has come under criticism. (Reuters/File)

US federal officials have launched a massive recruitment campaign to hire more than 14,000 immigration agents, attorneys and workers to enforce President Donald Trump’s plans to deport a million illegal immigrants annually from the United States.

Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown has received fresh funding after the Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law, and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun a new recruitment campaign to help boost the deportation of illegal immigrants from the country, offering significant benefits to people for signing up.

“America needs you," read one of the ICE recruitment posters that features a finger-pointing Uncle Sam, much like the World War I recruitment posters. “America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out."

People are not required to have an undergraduate degree to join the latest ICE drive to deport illegals. In exchange for joining Trump’s immigration crackdown, recruits could receive a $50,000 bonus, up to $60,000 in student loan forgiveness, and a 25% premium pay incentive.

The federal spending plan funds the hiring of 10,000 new ICE agents, making it the single-largest law enforcement agency in the country, larger than the FBI, DEA, ATF and other agencies combined, USA Today reported.

However, the dramatic expansion of ICE operations has upset communities in several parts of the country and raised concerns over the tactics ICE agents have used to catch alleged illegal immigrants. Trump’s “heavy-handed" approach to illegal immigration has sparked controversy, with naturalised US citizens being swept up in the crackdown.

Local Sheriffs Worried

According to the report by USA Today, the recruitment efforts have also angered local sheriffs, who are worried that deputies in already understaffed offices will be lured away by the big bonuses and higher pay.

“It is tone deaf and reflects a total lack of judgment and character on their part," said Jonathan Thompson, the executive director and CEO of the Sheriff’s Association. “This is either galactically stupid or purposefully malicious."

However, federal officials have promised to further flood Democrat-run cities with deportation officers in response to a lack of cooperation in Trump’s aggressive approach to curbing undocumented immigration. The Department of Homeland Security has already begun hiring for the new jobs.

Meanwhile, White House officials have warned that there had been an 830% increase in assaults against ICE agents through July 14, compared with the same period last year, and the recruiting materials say applicants “should expect a certain level of risk," but that they will be trained to take “every precaution" in remaining safe.

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

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