DHS Launches Major ICE Recruitment Drive With $50,000 Signing Bonuses to Combat Illegal Immigration

Legislative Backing Provides Unprecedented Funding

The recruitment drive operates with substantial financial backing from the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act, signed into law by President Trump on July 4. This comprehensive legislation allocated $150 billion specifically for immigration enforcement activities, with nearly $30 billion designated exclusively for ICE personnel expansion, training programs, and performance incentives.

Currently, ICE employs more than 20,000 law enforcement and support personnel distributed across over 400 offices throughout the United States and internationally. The new funding represents a significant opportunity to expand this workforce substantially.

Democratic Opposition Has a Different Approach

On July 8, Senate Democrats introduced the VISIBLE Act of 2025, requiring ICE officers, Customs and Border Protection personnel, and other immigration enforcement agents to display identifying information during enforcement operations.

Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), co-sponsor of the legislation, argued that current practices create unnecessary tension. “When federal immigration agents show up and pull someone off the street in plainclothes with their face obscured and no visible identification, it only escalates tensions and spreads fear while shielding federal agents from basic accountability,” Padilla stated.