The agency responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump's mass deportations is launching a massive recruiting campaign to entice "brave and heroic Americans" to serve as new deportation officers, lawyers and investigators as the government gears up for a major expansion of immigration enforcement thanks to a recent infusion of money from Congress.
The icing on the cake: a promise of up to US$ 50,000 in signing bonuses.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement campaign, which rolled out recently, recalls recruiting posters from World War II with images of Uncle Sam and the words "AMERICA NEEDS YOU." There also are photos of President Donald Trump and top homeland security officials with the words "DEFEND THE HOMELAND" across the images.
"Your country is calling you to serve at ICE," said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a news release. "This is a defining moment in our nation’s history. Your skills, your experience, and your courage have never been more essential. Together, we must defend the homeland."
In addition to appealing to prospective applicants' patriotic fervor, Homeland Security is making a pocketbook pitch. The agency is promising up to US$ 50,000 in signing bonuses, the potential for lots of overtime for deportation officers and other benefits such as loan repayment or forgiveness options.
All of this is made possible by a big infusion of money to ICE.
The package of tax breaks and spending cuts that Trump signed into law this month includes about US$ 170 billion for border security and immigration enforcement, spread out over five years.
ICE is set to get US$ 76.5 billion, nearly 10 times its current annual budget. Some US$ 45 billion will go toward increasing detention capacity. Nearly US$ 30 billion is for hiring 10,000 more staff so the agency can meet its goal of 1 million annual deportations.
New hires include deportation officers responsible for tracking down, arresting and removing people who the administration determines no longer have the right to remain in the United States.
On the recruitment webpage, the link to learn more about applying to be a deportation officer shows a photo of an armored vehicle rolling down a street with officers in military gear hanging onto the sides of the vehicle.
The government is also seeking criminal investigators and lawyers who will prosecute immigration cases.