Armed with tens of billions of dollars in funding, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is working fervently to expand its ranks.
But some of the Florida law enforcement agencies that closely partner with ICE aren’t happy with the way the federal agency is going about its recruitment push: sending email blasts to local law enforcement who had been trained to work with ICE – a practice one department deemed “wrong.”
At the end of July, hundreds – possibly thousands – of sheriff’s deputies and police officers working at departments that partner with ICE received an email from the agency’s deputy director, Madison Sheahan, imploring them to consider joining ICE during a “critical time for our nation.”
Deputy Director, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Madison Sheahan speaks during a press conference, in front of posters of people that law enforcement arrested, held at the ICE-Enforcement and Removal Operation office on May 1, in Miramar, Florida. – Joe Raedle/Getty Images/File
“Your experience in state or local law enforcement brings invaluable insight and skills to this mission—qualities we need now more than ever,” said the email, a copy of which was obtained by CNN. “ICE is actively recruiting officers like you who are committed to serving with integrity, professionalism, and a deep sense of duty.”
In addition to police officers, ICE is also looking to recruit military veterans and retired ICE employees. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Fox News on Wednesday that ICE had removed upper age limits for applicants.
Prospective employees are being offered eye-popping incentives from what is now the most well-funded federal law enforcement agency in the United States, including a recruitment bonus of $50,000 paid out in increments in exchange for five years of service.
That’s a figure that less-funded local departments cannot compete with.
“I’ve seen bonuses being offered usually in about the $10,000-$20,000 range, but certainly not 50,” said Charles Ramsey, the former head of the Philadelphia and DC Metro police departments and a CNN contributor.
The incentives come as the agency is under tremendous pressure to deliver on Trump’s mass deportation campaign. While the White House has sought to ramp up immigration arrests, they continue to lag.
The agency also briefly floated the idea of offering cash bonuses for employees who quickly deport immigrants, according to two sources familiar with the proposal – an offer that was first reported by The New York Times and swiftly withdrawn.
Law enforcement officials who spoke with CNN said they weren’t necessarily upset by the fact that ICE is attempting to recruit their officers – it’s not uncommon for different agencies to try poaching from each other, or for officers to seek opportunities at departments that offer better pay, incentives or lifestyles.
Rather, it was the way the agency went about it.
The officers who received the email were trained through the 287(g) program, which allows local law-enforcement agencies to partner with ICE to enforce federal immigration law, were required to provide their emails to log into training sessions as part of the certification process. An official from one Florida county said they had not previously received email blasts from ICE and did not anticipate those emails being used to head hunt their employees.
Law enforcement leaders in Florida, which has more agencies partnering with ICE through the 287(g) program than any other state, are especially upset.
“We have partnered with ICE like no other state to help ICE do its job of illegal immigration enforcement,” a spokesperson for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “ICE actively trying to use our partnership to recruit our personnel is wrong and we have expressed our concern to ICE leadership.”
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said in a statement he is disappointed “that any law enforcement agency would use information from our partnership to try and poach our deputies,” but added: “I am not concerned.”
“The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is an exemplary agency with great pay, excellent benefits, and a multitude of opportunities available to deputies – and those opportunities keep them engaged and excited about new challenges throughout their careers.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said in a statement: “ICE is recruiting law enforcement, veterans, and other patriots who want to serve their country and help remove gang members, child pedophiles, murderers, terrorists, and drug traffickers.”
“This includes local law enforcement, veterans, and our 287(g) partners who have already been trained and have valuable law enforcement experience,” said the statement, which did not address questions about criticism from law enforcement officials who described the agency’s recruitment tactics as heavy-handed.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons announces that his agency took nearly 1,500 immigrants into custody in Massachusetts over the month of May during a news conference in Boston, on June 2. – Leah Willingham/AP/File
ICE says their recruitment push is working. Noem said on Wednesday that the agency has received more than 80,000 applications since Trump signed his “big, beautiful bill” into law on July 4. ICE said on social media it has extended 1,000 tentative job offers. The agency has not said how many of those offers have been accepted.
The frustration extends to some sheriffs who are closely aligned with ICE and its mission. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who often speaks out about crimes committed by people in the United States illegally and is a strong supporter of Trump’s immigration crackdown, said in a video statement provided by his office that ICE is “biting the hand that’s feeding you.”
Polk Sheriff Grady Judd speaks during a press conference at the Polk County Sheriff’s Operation Center on February 24, in Winter Haven, Florida. – Ernst Peters/The Ledger/USA Today Network/Imagn Images/File
A spokesperson for Judd said hundreds of Polk County deputies received the recruitment pitch from ICE. And Judd noted that those deputies were ICE-trained on Polk County’s dime.
“It’s not professional,” Judd said in the video statement. “It’s bush league work is what it is.”
Ramsey, the former Philadelphia and DC chief, said he believed sheriffs like Judd have the right to be upset.
“At the time they provided [their deputies’ emails], I imagine they didn’t believe that this sort of thing was going to happen,” he said. “Those sheriff’s offices do more than just assist ICE. They have a lot of responsibilities and a lot of duties, and of course, if you lose your personnel, your ability to perform is impacted.”
“So I would imagine that’s one of the reasons they’re upset,” he added. “It certainly would be one of the reasons I would be upset.”
This is not the first time that ICE or DHS has upset jurisdictions with which it partners.
In late May, DHS posted a list of hundreds of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions – places that don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement – on its website. DHS removed the list after receiving blowback from several agencies who appeared on it but said they do cooperate with federal authorities and that the list does not accurately reflect their policies.
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.
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