❓WHAT HAPPENED: A total of 175,000 Americans have applied to join the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLoughlin, ICE applicants, and DHS recruiters.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The recruitment numbers were revealed during an. October 15, 2025, podcast.
💬KEY QUOTE: “It’s 175,000 Americans [who] have applied to join ICE. Amazing! It really is encouraging to see that patriots see through the charade of the media, they want to enforce the rule of law, and they want to protect our homeland.” – Tricia McLoughlin
🎯IMPACT: DHS recruitment efforts aim to hire over 10,000 new ICE enforcement officers, with 5,000 already onboarded, as part of a broader strategy to address illegal immigration.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeing an unprecedented surge in job applicants amid President Donald J. Trump’s expansive crackdown on illegal immigration. A total of 175,000 Americans have applied to join the agency, a number shared by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLoughlin during a podcast appearance on October 15.
“I just got the numbers hot off the press earlier. It’s 175,000 Americans [who] have applied to join ICE. Amazing! It really is encouraging to see that patriots see through the charade of the media, they want to enforce the rule of law, and they want to protect our homeland,” McLoughlin said.
McLoughlin also noted the $50,000 hiring bonus being offered and emphasized the importance of increasing deportation numbers. “We need to get these [deportation] numbers up,” she said, adding, “Congress has given us this funding from that one big, beautiful bill to be hiring more than 10,000 new ICE enforcement officers. I know about 5,000 have been hired, so we’re certainly on our way.”
She explained that increased enforcement would lead to more self-deportations as the message spreads to illegal immigrants that “You will be arrested, there will be consequences, you won’t be able to return, so get out now while you still have a shot.”
DHS recruitment efforts are focusing on patriotic messaging to inspire young Americans. “We’re aiming to really revive patriotism and pride in our heritage and but also debunk and defang a lot of these [media-carried] attacks against our men and women,” McLoughlin explained.
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