President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown needs reinforcements — and his administration is easing the requirements for new recruits to fill the gap.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that it is removing age limits for people who want to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose masked agents have fanned out across the country to detain people suspected of being in the country without legal status.
“We no longer have a cap on how old you can be,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in an interview on FOX to tout the new policy. “We’ll get you trained and ready to be equipped to go out on the streets and help protect families.”
The change illustrates one of the challenges with Trump’s oft-promised goal of deporting 1 million people per year. The White House has enlisted the help of local law enforcement through cooperation agreements, and states such as Florida and Texas have volunteered to help, but any concerted effort will require hiring thousands more agents by an agency that has struggled with retention and retirements in recent years.
In addition to lifting the age restrictions, DHS is also offering a signing bonus of up to $50,000, student loan repayment assistance and other benefits to attract recruits, the agency said in a news release.
“ICE encourages Americans with a commitment to public safety, national service, and upholding the rule of law to apply today to jumpstart a fulfilling career in federal law enforcement,” it said.
ICE, which has about 20,000 personnel, has until required recruits to be at least 21. Candidates to be criminal investigators, with limited exceptions, could not be older than 37 and deportation officers could not be over 40.
The Republican megabill recently passed by Congress included $170 billion in additional funding for border and immigration enforcement.
DHS said that more than 80,000 Americans had applied to join ICE in the week since it launched the new membership campaign.
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