A Fast Hiring Blitz Creates Internal Disorder
A fast and intense hiring push inside the nation’s immigration enforcement agency has led to confusion and frustration, according to several insiders. The Department of Homeland Security, led by Kristi Noem, is racing to add 10,000 extra Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to meet a new national goal of 3,000 deportations every day. But the pace of the hiring drive has created major problems.
Workers say large groups of new and returning officers are arriving at offices before basic tools are even prepared for them. Some reach their new posts without badges or guns. Others do not have access to computer systems they need to do their jobs. This has caused delays, with some officers waiting around for equipment that should have been ready on day one.
Inside the agency, employees describe the rollout as rushed and disorganized. One veteran Homeland Security Investigations worker told reporters that offices simply did not have enough time to prepare for the sudden surge of people. Many say the hiring steps have been pushed through so quickly that mistakes keep piling up.
Officials have said that about 85 percent of these hires are experienced former law enforcement officers returning to help meet rising demand. But insiders claim several offices are struggling to create space, assign tasks, and manage the rapid hiring wave of rehires arriving all at once. According to multiple workers, the rollout has reached a point where many now call it a “s—show.”
High Earnings Draw Back Retired Leaders
The rapid hiring push has also opened the door to unusually high pay packages. Insiders say this has attracted retired senior figures from both Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations. These returning officers usually come back at the GS-13 level on the federal pay scale.
Depending on location, GS-13 pay can reach $137,000 in many areas, and up to $171,268 in high-cost regions such as parts of California and New York. Locality pay boosts their base salaries, and Law Enforcement Availability Pay—an extra 25 percent added for being available beyond 40 hours—raises their compensation even more.
Many rehires also continue to receive federal pension checks worth $8,000 to $9,000 each month. Because of these combined payments, some returning workers can bring in amounts well over $250,000 a year, according to multiple insiders.
Several workers said that many of these highly paid rehires are being placed in temporary office positions with little supervision. Their main role is to process deportation paperwork so that younger, full-time agents can handle arrests in the field. Some insiders said older retired workers are earning close to $300,000 annually while mostly performing office-based tasks.
A department spokesperson strongly denied that anyone is being paid $300,000 for administrative work. The department also did not answer questions about whether some rehires may earn $200,000 from salary and LEAP alone.
Chicago erupts after Kristi Noem and YouTuber Benny Johnson join live immigration raid near Walmart
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin publicly rejected the claims made in the report, saying the department is focused on identifying and removing dangerous offenders tied to illegal immigration.
Mounting Pressure Behind Deportation Targets
Insiders say the push for rapid hiring is tied to heavy pressure from top advisers, including Stephen Miller, who has set demanding deportation goals. Workers report that agency leaders have been urged to increase arrests as quickly as possible, leading to what some describe as “panic at the top of government.”
According to multiple sources, leaders are being pressed to expand staffing, increase removal operations, and meet high deportation expectations. Some officials say the rush has led to large amounts of money being spent simply to boost officer numbers and speed up removals.
While the department highlights thousands of arrests involving serious crimes, insiders note that it still has not addressed the claims that the hiring surge has become a “s—show,” leaving many workers concerned about the ongoing chaos inside the agency.
