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A new report suggests that the Trump administration is planning to drastically ramp up recruitment efforts at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), expanding the federal agency that has been widely criticized for its violent tactics in carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
According to The New York Times, which cited four sources with knowledge of the administration’s plans, ICE is seeking to grow its workforce by 5,000 new employees, hoping to reach that number by the end of the year. Most of the new hires are expected to be “deportation officers” whose tasks will include participating in detaining people, those sources indicated.
The 5,000 new employees would be part of a series of increases to the agency during Trump’s second term. ICE has grown by 8,000 employees since the start of 2025, reaching 29,000 employees as of July. The new recruitment number being discussed would amount to a 17 percent increase over that latter figure.
ICE has ramped up its efforts during the Trump administration, using violent — and in some cases, deadly — methods and violating the due process rights of those they detain. Recruitment efforts last year included finding agents and placing them in the field with limited to no vetting and significantly reduced training.
The sources speaking to the Times indicated that the agency plans to rectify those issues by implementing higher standards for recruits, but it’s unclear if that’s possible, given the high number of agents the agency is seeking over the next few months.
“Adequately vetting people takes time,” said Deborah Fleischaker, a former chief of staff at ICE who worked during the Biden administration.
Indeed, recent recruitment strategies have included the use of neo-Nazi memes to appeal to potential hires, and seeking out extremists at events like gun shows, Ultimate Fight Club venues, and other places where far right individuals are typically present.
The planned recruitment comes as the movement to abolish ICE is gaining momentum across the country. Polling indicates that support for terminating the agency is supported by a majority of Americans.
According to an Economist/YouGov survey published in March, 56 percent of respondents said they had “only a little” or no confidence at all in the agency, while only 39 percent said they had a “great deal” or “some” confidence. Asked whether they backed abolishing ICE, 50 percent said they supported that idea, while only 39 percent said they opposed doing so.
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