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3h ago

ICE Abolishes Age Restrictions, Attracts Over 80,000 Applicants

Local law enforcement leaders warn that the aggressive recruitment blitz will drain sheriff’s departments, risk long-term corruption.

Federal agents outside of immigration court rooms at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York, US, on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. The Trump administration is ramping up a massive hiring spree at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, offering up to $50,000 signing bonuses, waiving age limits and invoking wartime-style imagery in a bid to lure thousands of new officers.
A federal agent wears a badge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement while standing outside an immigration courtroom at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York, on June 10, 2025.

Overview

  • DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that ICE has removed all upper age limits, allowing any adult 18 or older to apply for law enforcement roles.
  • The agency has received more than 80,000 applications for 10,000 new officer slots funded by President Trump’s $30 billion allocation to ICE recruitment.
  • ICE is offering up to $50,000 in signing bonuses, student loan forgiveness, enhanced retirement benefits and is targeting Gen Z via digital ads on streaming and social platforms.
  • Personnel from FEMA and other federal and local agencies are being reassigned or recruited to support ICE’s hiring and vetting operations.
  • The National Sheriff’s Association cautions that lucrative incentives and aggressive poaching from local forces could deplete understaffed departments and spur misconduct.