Overview

• ICE rolled out Operation Return to Mission on July 18, emailing hundreds of former agents with offers of up to $50,000 in signing bonuses
• The recruitment drive lets returning staff resume their previous job series and locations and includes dual compensation waivers to preserve pension benefits
• The initiative addresses the agency’s failure to meet deportation quotas set by President Trump’s administration
• Funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act boosted ICE’s budget by $75 billion for expanded arrest, deportation and detention operations
• Hardline directives from White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller have increased pressure on ICE to intensify searches and arrests nationwide