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Border Patrol is encouraging retired agents to rejoin its ranks as the Trump administration escalates its immigration raids across the country.
“Recently retired from Border Patrol? We want you back!” U.S. Border Patrol posted on Instagram on August 18.
“We’re seeking to reinstate retired agents to rejoin the agency and continue the great work we’ve accomplished the last six months,” the agency said, adding that “benefits may include” an “expedited pre-employment process,” a “recruitment incentive,” and a “salary offset waiver, allowing you to retain your full retirement annuity and full salary while re-employed.”
Despite these advertised benefits, the job posting states, “There is no recruitment incentive associated with this job announcement.”
Border Patrol previously posted the call to Instagram on July 22.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency is experiencing a “historic spike” in Border Patrol applicants. The agency reported that from January to April 2025, Border Patrol received 44 percent more applicants than the same time period last year.
The Trump administration is also trying to hire 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, saying they may be entitled to a signing bonus of up to $50,000 and student loan forgiveness up to $60,000. Shortly after they announced the hiring blitz, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) waived age requirements for ICE agents, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem encouraged 18-year-olds to apply. DHS claims 100,000 “patriotic Americans” have already applied.
The recruitment efforts come as Trump’s second term has been roiled by a slowing economy, mass protests, and plummeting poll numbers.
Some people tasked with enforcing Trump’s policies, such as National Guard members, have expressed concerns about being identified with his administration. Calls to the G.I. Rights Hotline, which advises service members on their rights, spiked in June after the president announced that he was sending National Guard troops to squash anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles.
Richard Morgan, the executive director of the Center on Conscience & War, previously told Truthout that several callers asked if they could wear face coverings if they were deployed to Los Angeles.
“They just didn’t want to be recognized,” he told Truthout, explaining that many expressed “the idea that ‘I don’t want anyone in my community thinking I’m betraying them.’”
This week, Reuters/Ipsos released a poll showing that Trump’s approval rating is at 40 percent, down from 47 percent in January. Among Hispanics surveyed, his approval rating is just over 32 percent. More than half of the approximately 4,400 people surveyed thought Trump was too close to Russia, and just over 40 percent approved of Trump’s crime and immigration policies.
A poll from the Pew Research Center, released on August 14, shows Trump’s approval rating at 38 percent. Over 60 percent of those surveyed disapprove of Trump’s policies. Less than 60 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they support all or most of Trump’s policies, down from about 66 percent earlier this year.
Trump’s popularity has fallen as the horrors of his immigration policies have come to light, such as the abductions of several children, including a 7-year-old, a 4-year-old with cancer, and a high school student who was walking his dog. The administration has also used authoritarian tactics to intimidate its critics, including the arrests of several Democratic lawmakers.
In August, Border Patrol agents swarmed the area outside a press conference held by Trump adversary California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), and arrested a produce delivery driver. In scenes that are playing out across the United States, a witness filmed the abduction and yelled at the masked agents:
“What the fuck are you doing? No fucking reason to stop him or question him. Nothing. No fucking words. No warrant was shown. No fucking reason. Just because he looks the part. He looks the part so you guys took him.”
In another case, also in California, medical staff tried to stop officers from abducting a landscaper who was working on the grounds of their facility. They demanded to see a warrant and ordered the officer to leave, telling him he was on private property.
“Get your hands off of him. You don’t even have a warrant,” one staff member said. “Let him go. You need to get out.”
Two of the surgical center staff members, Jose Ortega and Danielle Davila, were charged with felonies for trying to protect the man. This week, federal prosecutors reduced the charges to misdemeanors.
“They did the right thing,” Carlos Juarez, Ortega’s attorney, told reporters. “And if it was to happen again, they would do it again.”
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