US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has removed the age limit that previously barred older adults from applying to become deportation agents. The agency, which is actively working to hire 10,000 deportation agents and support staff, earlier set application cutoffs at age 37 or 40, depending on the role, reported USA Today. “We are ENDING the age cap for ICE law enforcement. Qualified candidates can now apply with no age limit,” said Kristi Noem, the US secretary of homeland security, through a video posted on X.“We’ve removed any of the age barriers, we no longer have a cap on how old you can be. You can continue at age 18. Sign up for ICE and join us and be a part of it,” Noem was quoted as saying by Fox News.The Congress approved nearly $30 billion in July to strengthen immigration enforcement and removal operations, including funding to hire thousands of additional agents. By the end of the Biden administration, the agency employed approximately 6,000 deportation agents.The agency is offering recruitment bonuses of up to $50,000 and student loan assistance to attract “brave and heroic” Americans interested in supporting the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, reports the BBC. Alongside the recruitment bonus, the agency is also offering generous overtime pay and “enhanced retirement benefits.”The new federal spending plan is set to make ICE the largest law enforcement agency in the nation, surpassing the combined size of the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and other federal agencies, reported USA Today. ICE’s recruitment push is drawing concerns from some local sheriffs who fear the agency’s large bonuses and higher salaries could effectively impact already understaffed departments. Hundreds of local law enforcement agencies nationwide have partnerships with ICE currently.“It is tone-deaf and reflects a total lack of judgment and character on their part,” said Jonathan Thompson, the executive director and CEO of the National Sheriff’s Association, as reported by USA Today. Roughly 150,000 individuals were deported during the first six months of the Trump administration, as per data obtained by CBS, reports the BBC.
