Immigration Enforcement (ICE) Agent Statistics in US 2026 | Key Facts

ICE Agent in US 2026

The landscape of immigration enforcement in the United States has undergone dramatic transformation throughout 2025 and into early 2026, marking one of the most significant expansions in the agency’s 23-year history. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, has experienced unprecedented growth in both personnel and operational capacity, fundamentally reshaping how immigration laws are enforced across America. This expansion represents a pivotal shift in federal law enforcement priorities, with massive resource allocation directed toward interior immigration enforcement operations that have touched communities nationwide.

As of January 2026, ICE employs more than 22,000 officers and agents, representing a historic 120% workforce increase achieved in less than one year. This extraordinary hiring surge, funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in July 2025 with $8 billion allocated specifically for ICE hiring, has more than doubled the agency’s enforcement capacity from approximately 10,000 personnel at the beginning of 2025. The rapid expansion has been accompanied by significant operational changes, including shortened training programs, enhanced recruitment incentives such as $50,000 signing bonuses, and the removal of age caps for new applicants. This transformation has positioned ICE as the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the United States, with a combined annual budget exceeding $29 billion when accounting for both base funding and supplemental appropriations.

Key ICE Agent Facts and Statistics in the US 2026

Data sources: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Official Press Releases (January 2026), ICE.gov Official Statistics, Government Executive Magazine, CBS News Internal DHS Data, Congressional Budget Office Reports

The statistics presented in this table reveal the magnitude of transformation within ICE operations during 2025-2026. The agency successfully hired 12,000 new officers and agents after receiving more than 220,000 applications, representing the most successful federal law enforcement recruitment campaign in American history according to official DHS statements. This hiring surge exceeded the original target of 10,000 new personnel by twenty percent, demonstrating the agency’s aggressive expansion strategy. The dramatic reduction in training duration for Enforcement and Removal Operations officers from 13 weeks to just 8 weeks (47 days, allegedly chosen because Trump is the 47th president) has enabled rapid deployment of newly hired personnel into field operations. Meanwhile, the agency’s financial resources have tripled when combining the base budget of $10 billion with the $75 billion supplemental funding provided through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which can be spent over four years at approximately $18.75 billion annually. This positions ICE’s effective annual budget at roughly $29 billion, surpassing the entire Department of Justice budget request of $35 billion for FY2026, which includes the FBI and all other DOJ law enforcement agencies combined.

The detention population has reached an unprecedented 73,000 individuals as of January 16, 2026, marking the highest level in the agency’s history and representing an 84% increase from the approximately 40,000 detainees held one year earlier. This surge in detention capacity reflects the administration’s stated goal of being able to hold upwards of 100,000 immigration detainees at any given time. Former senior U.S. immigration officials have confirmed this represents the largest detention population in modern American history, with no comparable period when the federal government held more people in immigration custody.

ICE Workforce Growth and Recruitment in the US 2026

Data sources: DHS Press Release January 6, 2026, ICE.gov Career Information, Government Executive Analysis, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Reports

The workforce expansion represents a fundamental restructuring of ICE’s operational capacity. The agency more than doubled its personnel from 10,000 to 22,000 in less than twelve months, achieving this growth through what DHS describes as an accelerated hiring tempo that allowed ICE to place officers in the field faster than any previous recruitment effort in the agency’s history. The recruitment initiative utilized data-driven outreach efforts to recruit qualified applicants from across the country, targeting demographics through geo-targeted advertising at UFC fights, patriotic podcast listeners, and users of platforms including TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Hulu, HBO Max, Snapchat, Spotify, and YouTube.

Training modifications have been particularly significant for Enforcement and Removal Operations officers, whose academy preparation was reduced from 13 weeks to 8 weeks, running six days per week for a total of 47 days. This compression eliminated Spanish-language courses and condensed curriculum focused on basic law enforcement tactics, immigration law, firearms training, emergency response driving, and Constitutional law. The removal of mandatory Spanish training has been compensated through increased reliance on translation technology applications deployed on ICE-issued cellular devices. By contrast, Homeland Security Investigations special agents continue to undergo a comprehensive 25-27 week training program consisting of the interagency Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP) and ICE/HSI’s specialized training, maintaining more rigorous preparation for complex criminal investigations.

The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center has severely curtailed its operations for non-ICE personnel to enable ICE recruits to deploy more rapidly, prioritizing immigration enforcement training over other federal law enforcement agencies’ needs. This reallocation of training resources has drawn scrutiny from oversight bodies, with the DHS Inspector General currently investigating ICE’s hiring and training efforts to monitor whether the agency can meet operational needs while maintaining appropriate standards. Reporting from January 2026 highlighted concerns about shortened training, looser requirements, and evidence of preparation gaps, including viral social media videos showing agents with equipment handling difficulties during field operations.

ICE Budget and Funding Allocation in the US 2026

Data sources: Congressional Appropriations Committee Reports, DHS Budget Justification FY2026, One Big Beautiful Bill Act (July 2025), Brennan Center for Justice Analysis, NPR Budget Analysis

ICE has become the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the United States, with resources exceeding those of the entire Justice Department. The base annual budget of $10 billion has been supplemented with an extraordinary $75 billion allocation through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in July 2025, which ICE can draw upon over four years through fiscal year 2029. This supplemental funding includes approximately $45 billion for immigration detention system expansion and $30 billion for tracking down, arresting, and deporting immigrants. The agency’s combined effective annual budget of roughly $29 billion represents a near-tripling of resources compared to the pre-2025 funding levels of approximately $10 billion, and notably exceeds the Trump administration’s FY2026 appropriations request for the entire Justice Department of approximately $35 billion (which includes the FBI, DEA, and all other DOJ law enforcement components).

The $11.25 billion added to ICE’s detention budget through the supplemental funding represents a 400% increase from the previous year and exceeds the Department of Justice’s budget request for the entire federal prison system, which houses 155,000 people. With 73,000 individuals currently in ICE detention as of mid-January 2026, the daily cost of detention operations reaches approximately $10.5 million, calculated at $152 per person per day. At current detention levels, this translates to annual detention expenditures of approximately $3.8 billion, though costs are projected to increase significantly as the administration works toward its stated goal of housing 100,000 detainees simultaneously.

The FY2026 base appropriations bill released in January 2026 maintains ICE funding essentially flat at $10 billion for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, with $3.8 billion specifically allocated for Enforcement and Removal Operations. However, the bill reduces ICE enforcement and removal operations funding by $115 million compared to initial proposals and cuts the number of funded detention beds by 5,500. The legislation also includes $108 million in increased funding for medical care for detained individuals, addressing healthcare requirements following 1,333,166 healthcare encounters in FY2025. Despite these modest reductions in the base budget, ICE remains insulated from funding lapses because of the massive $75 billion OBBBA supplemental fund, which the agency can access whether or not annual appropriations bills pass Congress.

ICE Arrests and Enforcement Operations in the US 2026

Data sources: Deportation Data Project (FOIA data), CBS News Internal DHS Data, Prison Policy Initiative Analysis, NBC News Immigration Tracker, TRAC Immigration Reports, DHS Official Statements

ICE arrest operations have reached unprecedented levels, with more than 1,000 arrests occurring daily across the United States according to government data processed by the Deportation Data Project. These arrests are concentrated in states that fully collaborate with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement priorities, with nearly 48% of arrests happening at local jails and other lockups where ICE officers take custody of individuals already detained by local law enforcement. The remaining 52% of arrests occur at “other locations” including streets, workplaces, homes, and even immigration court appearances, representing a shift toward more visible public enforcement operations.

The composition of detainees has shifted dramatically throughout 2025, with a 2,500% surge in non-criminal detainees arrested directly by ICE, increasing from 945 individuals on January 26, 2025 to 24,644 individuals by January 7, 2026. During this same period, the number of detainees arrested by ICE who have criminal convictions grew by 80% and those with pending criminal charges increased by 243%. As of mid-November 2025, ICE was detaining 47,964 individuals with no criminal convictions, representing nearly three-quarters (73.6%) of all detained persons. This data contradicts administration claims that enforcement focuses primarily on dangerous criminals, with internal DHS statistics showing that approximately 47% or 34,000 of the 73,000 total detainees as of January 16, 2026 had criminal charges or convictions in the United States.

Major enforcement operations have been deployed to cities across America, with Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis representing the most massive single-city immigration enforcement operation in modern U.S. history. This operation deployed approximately 2,000 federal agents to the Twin Cities metropolitan area beginning December 1, 2025, resulting in more than 2,000 arrests as of mid-January 2026. The operation involves approximately 600 HSI agents and up to 1,500 ICE ERO officers rotating through the area during a month-long deployment period. In Chicago, Operation Midway Blitz resulted in over 3,300 arrests, with daily arrest rates that briefly exceeded every larger state except Texas when adjusted for population. Notably, 60% of Illinois arrests involved individuals without criminal convictions.

Despite the administration’s stated priority of arresting the “worst of the worst,” ICE has made slow progress apprehending serious criminals. ICE identified 435,000 unauthorized immigrants with criminal convictions in the United States who were not in custody as of July 2025, including 13,099 convicted of murder and 15,811 convicted of sexual assault. Through the end of May 2025, ICE had arrested only 752 individuals convicted of murder and 1,693 convicted of sexual assault, representing just 5.7% and 10.7% of the identified populations respectively.

ICE Deportations and Removals in the US 2026

Data sources: ICE FY2025 and FY2026 Official Statistics, TRAC Immigration Reports, Congressional Budget Office Demographic Outlook Update, CNN Analysis, American Immigration Council, Migration Policy Institute

Despite the massive increase in resources and personnel devoted to immigration enforcement, actual removal numbers have grown more modestly than the scale of investment might suggest. ICE reported 56,392 removals for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 (October through December 2025), continuing operations that resulted in 319,980 total removals in FY2025. Of the FY2025 removals, TRAC Immigration analysis estimates that approximately 85,769 occurred while President Biden was still in office (October 1, 2024 through January 19, 2025), leaving 234,211 removals occurring after President Trump assumed office. Adding the FY2025 and early FY2026 figures together, the total reported number of removals during the Trump administration through mid-December 2025 was 290,603, representing just 7% more than the 271,484 removals in FY2024 during the last full year of the Biden administration.

The Congressional Budget Office projects that the funding provided by the 2025 reconciliation act will result in 5,500 additional arrests in 2026 compared to what would have occurred otherwise, with this number rising to 100,000 additional arrests by 2029 as the full complement of new agents becomes operational. CBO estimates that 50,000 immigrants on average will be held in detainment each day over the 2026-2029 period as a result of the legislation. Interior removals for 2025 were estimated at approximately 140,000 people, with daily removal rates sustaining at around 400 per day through June 2025.

A significant shift has occurred in detention-to-deportation ratios, with data from November 2025 showing that for every person released from ICE detention, more than fourteen were deported directly from custody, compared to an approximate one-to-two ratio from a year earlier. This dramatic change reflects administration policies designed to use detention as a mechanism to pressure individuals into accepting deportation rather than pursuing their legal cases. The administration has pursued policies stripping millions of people of the right to bond hearings where they could make a case for community release while their immigration cases proceed, making prolonged or indefinite detention increasingly the norm rather than the exception.

ICE Detention Facilities and Conditions in the US 2026

Data sources: CBS News Internal DHS Data, Project On Government Oversight Analysis, The Guardian Death Reports, American Immigration Council, TRAC Immigration Facilities Data, ICE Detention Management Statistics

The U.S. immigration detention system has reached unprecedented scale, with 73,000 individuals held in ICE custody as of January 16, 2026, marking the highest level recorded in the agency’s history and an 84% increase from approximately 40,000 detainees at the same time in 2025. Former senior U.S. immigration officials, including Doris Meissner who led the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service during the Clinton administration, confirm this represents the largest detention population in modern American history, with no comparable period when the federal government held more people in immigration custody. The detention system has expanded so rapidly that ICE is now using over 100 more facilities than at the start of 2025, including the first-ever use of hastily-constructed tent camps to detain immigrants arrested in the interior of the country.

The largest single facility, ERO El Paso Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, held an average of 2,774 detainees per day as of November 2025. This facility has been the site of three deaths in January 2026 alone, including a 55-year-old Cuban man whose death was initially reported by ICE as suicide but was subsequently ruled a homicide by the medical examiner after a witness reported he was choked by a guard. The facility also saw the deaths of a 36-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant Victor Manuel Diaz and other detainees under controversial circumstances highlighting concerns about conditions and medical care.

The total number of deaths in ICE custody during 2025 reached 32 individuals, nearly three times the number of deaths in 2024 and the most since 2004. This represents more deaths in a single year than occurred during the entire four-year Biden administration, which saw 24 such deaths from 2021 through 2024. Deaths have included a 46-year-old Eritrean man after seven months in custody in Pennsylvania, and a 46-year-old Cambodian refugee Parady La who died from drug withdrawal in Philadelphia, with his family accusing ICE of medical neglect and stating he was begging for help in his final hours.

Oversight of detention facilities has severely declined even as the detained population has surged. The number of ICE detention facility inspection reports published by the agency’s Office of Detention Oversight dropped by 36.25% in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to analysis by the Project On Government Oversight and American University’s Investigative Reporting Workshop. The agency is supposed to conduct inspections twice per year for facilities with an average daily population of 10 or more that detain individuals for longer than 72 hours, yet reports on ICE’s website indicate no facility received more than one inspection in 2025. Detention centers that fail two inspections in a row are required to lose federal funding, but the reduced inspection frequency has made this accountability mechanism largely inoperative.

Nearly 90% of people in ICE custody are held in for-profit prisons operated by private contractors, with the two largest for-profit companies being significant financial supporters of the current administration and having hired several former high-level ICE officials. The rapid expansion has created pressure to cut corners in hiring, procurement, and facility standards, with oversight offices at DHS being gutted simultaneously. Healthcare demands remain extraordinarily high, with 1,333,166 healthcare encounters documented in FY2025, necessitating the $108 million increase in medical care funding for FY2026.

ICE Operational Challenges and Controversies in the US 2026

Data sources: DHS Official Statement January 8, 2026, The Intercept Investigation, Wikipedia ICE Controversies Documentation, Federal Court Records, CBS News Operational Analysis, American Immigration Council Reports

ICE operations have faced significant challenges and controversies throughout the 2025-2026 period, particularly regarding officer safety and training standards. The agency experienced 275 assaults against ICE law enforcement officers during 2025, compared to only 19 assaults during the same period in 2024, representing a staggering 1,347% increase. Vehicular attacks against ICE officers surged even more dramatically, with 66 such attacks occurring between January 21, 2025 and January 7, 2026, compared to only 2 during the prior year period, marking a 3,200% increase. Death threats against ICE personnel increased by approximately 8,000% according to Department of Homeland Security data released in January 2026.

Training standards have become a focal point of criticism, with the reduction of ERO officer academy training from 13 weeks to 8 weeks (47 days) drawing scrutiny from oversight bodies and former agency leadership. John Sandweg, former director of ICE, stated bluntly that “We’ve lowered our standards” in response to the accelerated hiring and shortened training. The Intercept reported in January 2026 on the hiring binge’s consequences, including “shorter training, looser requirements, and flashy bonuses” leading to evidence of incompetence, with humiliating videos of agents falling down and dropping their guns going viral on social media. The DHS Inspector General is currently investigating ICE’s hiring and training efforts to monitor whether the agency can meet operational needs while maintaining appropriate standards for public safety.

The elimination of Spanish-language training requirements in August 2025 has raised concerns about communication barriers during enforcement operations, with ICE relying instead on translation technology applications deployed on agent cellular devices. Critics note this approach changes how communication is documented and audited after encounters, potentially affecting issues of consent, due process, and accountability in situations where language barriers exist.

Officer conduct has drawn federal judicial intervention in multiple jurisdictions. Federal judges in Los Angeles found that ICE was engaging in racial profiling during enforcement operations, and ICE subsequently ignored court orders to stop these activities. The agency’s aggressive policing tactics, including arrests by masked agents in public areas captured on camera by bystanders, have frequently led to accusations of “kidnapping” and been criticized as intentionally seeking to spread fear among immigrant communities.

The fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer on January 7, 2026 in Minneapolis during the Operation Metro Surge deployment created considerable controversy. Federal officials characterized the shooting as an act of self-defense, but Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described it as “reckless” and unnecessary. The incident intensified protests and clashes during immigration enforcement operations, with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz describing ICE agents as “Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo,” referring to Nazi Germany’s secret police. Similar strong rhetoric from other political leaders, including comparisons to fascist institutions and calls for ICE to “get the f**k out of Minneapolis,” has been cited by DHS as contributing to the hostile environment and increased attacks on federal officers.

ICE Divisions: HSI and ERO Operations in the US 2026

Data sources: ICE.gov Division Descriptions, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Documentation, Operation Metro Surge Reporting, HSI Mission Statement, ERO Operations Manual References

ICE operates through two distinct divisions with fundamentally different missions and operational approaches. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) serves as ICE’s investigative arm, employing approximately 7,500 special agents who investigate serious transnational crimes including drug trafficking, human smuggling, cybercrime, weapons trafficking, financial crimes, and national security threats. HSI maintains a presence in approximately 50 countries worldwide, operating as the second-largest investigative agency in the federal government after the FBI. HSI agents undergo extensive training lasting 25-27 weeks, consisting of the Criminal Investigator Training Program followed by HSI’s Special Agent Training, maintaining standards consistent with other federal investigative agencies.

By contrast, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) serves as ICE’s enforcement and detention arm, representing the majority of the agency’s 22,000+ total personnel and focusing specifically on locating, arresting, detaining, and deporting individuals who are present in the United States without authorization or who have violated immigration laws. ERO officers since 2025 complete only 8 weeks (47 days) of training before deployment, a 63% reduction from the previous 13-week standard. This compressed training has enabled the rapid deployment of the 12,000 new officers hired during 2025’s unprecedented recruitment surge.

The operational authorities of these divisions differ substantially. HSI special agents conduct criminal investigations using traditional law enforcement tools including search warrants, wiretaps, undercover operations, and forensic analysis, with arrests based on criminal probable cause and judicial warrants that allow agents to force entry when necessary. ERO officers make administrative arrests for immigration violations based on administrative warrants issued by ICE officials rather than judges, which do not authorize forced entry into homes or private property. This distinction became particularly significant during the Operation Metro Surge deployment in Minneapolis, where approximately 600 HSI agents and up to 1,500 ERO officers collaborated, but only HSI agents possessed the authority to forcibly enter residences when encountering locked doors.

The relationship between HSI and ERO has been complicated by HSI’s 2018 request to split from ICE entirely, a proposal supported by many HSI special agents who believe their criminal investigative mission is undermined by association with immigration enforcement operations that generate significant controversy and political opposition. HSI agents receive Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP), providing 25% additional compensation beyond base salary in recognition of the unpredictable and extended work hours required for complex criminal investigations. This pay structure, combined with the more extensive training and international deployment opportunities, positions HSI as a more prestigious career path within federal law enforcement compared to ERO positions.

ICE Technology and Surveillance Systems in the US 2026

Data sources: Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology, ACLU ICE Surveillance Reports, Palantir Contract Documentation, Electronic Frontier Foundation Research

ICE operates one of the most sophisticated surveillance and data collection systems in the federal government, with technology infrastructure that has expanded significantly during the 2025-2026 period. The agency’s facial recognition database contains more than 440 million photos, making it the largest federal biometric database in the United States and drawing images from partnerships with 21+ state departments of motor vehicles that provide access to driver’s license photographs. This system allows ICE to identify individuals without their knowledge or consent, utilizing sophisticated algorithms to match surveillance footage, social media photos, and other images against the massive database.

The $2.4 billion contract with Palantir Technologies, extending through 2034, provides ICE with comprehensive data integration and predictive analytics capabilities. Palantir’s platform aggregates information from dozens of federal, state, and local databases, allowing ICE officers to access real-time information about individuals’ locations, movements, relationships, employment, financial transactions, and immigration history. This system has been instrumental in the rapid identification and apprehension operations characterizing the 2025-2026 enforcement surge.

ICE’s Surveillance and Recognition Management System (SRMS) continuously records and monitors the locations of immigrants throughout the United States, integrating data from license plate readers that track vehicle movements, cellphone location data purchased from commercial data brokers, ankle monitoring GPS devices, check-ins at ICE offices, and reports from state and local law enforcement agencies. The ICE Coordination Network facilitates real-time information sharing between federal immigration officers and local police departments, enabling rapid response when individuals of interest are encountered during routine law enforcement activities.

Social media monitoring has become an integral component of ICE operations, with agents using advanced software to track individuals’ online activities, identify networks of family members and associates, and predict future locations based on digital footprints. This surveillance infrastructure has drawn significant criticism from civil liberties organizations, with the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology and ACLU describing it as creating a “surveillance state” that disproportionately impacts immigrant communities and raises serious Fourth Amendment concerns about unreasonable searches and seizures.

ICE International Presence and Cooperation in the US 2026

Data sources: ICE International Operations Reports, HSI Global Presence Documentation, ICE Air Operations Budgets, State Department Coordination Briefings

ICE maintains a substantial international presence through Homeland Security Investigations, with personnel deployed to approximately 50 countries worldwide to conduct transnational criminal investigations and coordinate with foreign law enforcement agencies. HSI’s international operations focus on combating human trafficking networks, drug trafficking cartels, cybercrime operations, weapons smuggling, and child exploitation rings that operate across national borders. These investigations often involve multi-year operations coordinating intelligence and enforcement efforts across multiple jurisdictions.

ICE Air Operations conducts hundreds of repatriation flights annually, operating a dedicated deportation airline that returns individuals to more than 100 countries accepting deportees. These charter flights can accommodate approximately 300 people each and operate on an annual budget of roughly $170 million. The largest volume of deportations is directed toward Mexico, Central American countries including Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, and Caribbean nations. These flights have occasionally generated diplomatic tensions when receiving countries object to the volume, timing, or circumstances of returns, particularly when deportees have significant criminal histories or when receiving countries lack adequate capacity to process and integrate returned citizens.

International cooperation involves coordination with Interpol for red notices identifying wanted individuals, intelligence sharing regarding transnational criminal networks including MS-13 and other gangs operating across borders, joint investigations with foreign law enforcement targeting drug trafficking cartels and human smuggling operations, and diplomatic negotiations regarding immigration enforcement priorities and return agreements. The State Department plays a coordinating role in many of these international aspects of ICE operations, balancing immigration enforcement objectives against broader diplomatic relationships and foreign policy considerations.

ICE Agent Demographics and Workforce Characteristics in the US 2026

Data sources: ICE Careers Website, Office of Personnel Management Data, National ICE Council Statements, Federal Employment Statistics

The demographics and characteristics of ICE’s workforce have evolved significantly during the rapid expansion of 2025-2026. The agency removed age caps that previously restricted older applicants, opening recruitment to a broader pool of candidates including individuals with extensive military or law enforcement experience who might have previously aged out of eligibility. The removal of these restrictions was specifically designed to enable the agency to meet its aggressive hiring targets of 10,000+ new personnel within a compressed timeframe.

ICE positions typically require U.S. citizenship, completion of a bachelor’s degree or three years of relevant experience, and the ability to obtain a security clearance following a comprehensive background investigation. The starting salary range for new ERO officers spans $53,000 to $87,000 annually depending on education and experience level (GL-7 through GL-11 on the federal pay scale), with HSI special agents typically entering at slightly higher pay grades. The $50,000 signing bonuses offered during the 2025 recruitment campaign represented a substantial financial incentive, particularly for early-career law enforcement professionals.

The ICE workforce is represented by the National ICE Council, an AFL-CIO affiliated union representing thousands of ICE employees. The union has been active in advocating for officer safety concerns, particularly regarding the 1,347% increase in assaults and 3,200% increase in vehicular attacks experienced during 2025. Union representatives have also expressed concerns about training reductions and the pace of hiring, warning that compressed academy timelines and reduced standards could compromise both officer safety and public safety.

Geographic distribution of ICE personnel concentrates heavily in border states including Texas, California, Arizona, and Florida, though the agency maintains offices in all 50 states. The rapid expansion has led to elevated turnover rates as some newly hired officers find the work does not match their expectations or struggle with the intensive operational tempo, particularly during large-scale operations like Operation Metro Surge that require extended deployments away from home duty stations. The agency’s ability to retain the 12,000+ personnel hired during 2025 will be a critical factor in determining whether the expanded enforcement capacity can be sustained long-term or whether attrition will require continuous recruitment to maintain current staffing levels.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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