Among countless videos uploaded to social media in recent months depicting clashes between federal US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and protesters in states like Minnesota, one recent clip actually captured what would pass as a relatively civil conversation between the two sides.
A video uploaded to the NowThis Impact YouTube account on January 14 shows a pair of unidentified people sitting off-camera, talking to a man wearing a vest that says “Police ICE” and who identifies himself as an ICE officer (1). It is not clear if they are in Minnesota or a different location.
The video begins with two bystanders — a man and a woman — telling the alleged ICE agent “he should be ashamed.” The ICE agent turns to them and says, “I like my job, thank you.”
When pressed, he adds, “I don’t believe I got paid for this. I do it for free.”
The female viewer then notes that she earns a $200,000 salary, although background noise on the recording makes it difficult to discern her exact job title beyond the word “assistant.” Yet, when she tells the ICE agent she went to school “over seven years” to earn that salary, the ICE agent replies, “I went to high school and I make $200k.”
As of this writing the video has received over 2.1 million views, with many commenters expressing their own feelings on the matter. Some questioned whether the ICE agent would actually work for free, while others disputed the claim of a $200,000 salary.
So how much do ICE agents patrol US cities really earn?
In a longer version of the same video, an “ERO” name tag appears on the front of an ICE officer’s vest (2).
ERO stands for Enforcement and Removal Operations and, while it’s hard to be sure what his official status is based on the video, evidence of his clothing and the fact that he’s in the field among other law enforcement suggests he’s likely a deportation officer.
Deportation officers are described in official ICE job postings as providing support for work related to “immigration investigations, detention, identification and location, arrest, prosecution and deportation” (3). This includes assisting “in the apprehension of persons suspected of violating immigration or related laws.” In the longer version of the video, the ICE officer tells two bystanders “I don’t care what they tell you. If you get in my way, I’m going to arrest you” (2).
The job posting lists an annual salary range for the position between $51,632 and $84,277, which appears to invalidate the ICE officer’s claim of a $200,000 salary. It also notes that “student loan repayment incentives may be available” to those who are employed in the position and adds that benefits may include “health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plans; savings plans.” [similar to a 401(k)]” and more (3).
Some positions, such as the Homeland Defender (Immigration Service Officer) job, offer “signing and retention bonuses of up to $50,000” (4). But no such facility is mentioned under Deportation Officer Benefit.
As for education, candidates must demonstrate completion of a four-year bachelor’s degree or “a combination of successfully completed post-high school education and experience,” which “can be used to meet total eligibility requirements.”
The official ICE recruitment homepage, however, specifically highlights front and center that “you do not need a bachelor’s degree” (5). And a separate deportation officer job description specifically states that the basic requirements for the job are US citizenship and a driver’s license, the ability to carry a firearm and be under forty (6) years of age. So the officer’s claim of having only higher secondary education may be true.
Meanwhile, other jobs posted on ICE’s official site, which definitely require more than a high school diploma, also fall short of the $200,000 per year salary mark. These include information technology specialists (up to $185,234 a year), local chief dentists (up to $150,000 a year), and supervisory accountants (up to $187,093 a year) (7,8,9). A general attorney for labor and employment law is listed as earning $197,200 annually (10).
ICE is funded by a massive $76 billion appropriation in “a big beautiful bill” Republicans passed last year — increasing the department’s budget nearly tenfold. A bill to add an additional $10 billion to ICE funding passed the House last week and is headed to the Senate (11).
Last year the Department of Homeland Security went on a hiring blitz with funding, announcing it would hire more than 12,000 ICE officers (12).
ICE’s recent hiring surge has also brought scrutiny to how rigorously applicants are vetted. In a recent first-person account for Slate, a former Army veteran said she passed an initial interview for a deportation officer role in the ICE recruitment program, despite her law enforcement background and public record sharply critical of the agency (13).
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While the ICE agent in the video says he loves his job and “does it for free” and the perks offered to new recruits sound enticing, multiple reports suggest that not all of his colleagues feel as satisfied as he does.
After the shooting deaths of civilians Renee Goode and Alex Pretty by ICE agents in Minnesota earlier this month — and the resulting surge in anti-ICE protests — more than 20 ICE agents spoke to The New York Times, expressing frustration about falling morale over, among other things, the long hours required for the job, White House arrests and expectations related to heightened homeland security. officers” surrounding shooting deaths, and a lack of training to deal with such tense protests.
And Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin also reported speaking with “more than half a dozen federal sources involved.” [in] immigration enforcement, including many in senior positions” who were “increasingly uneasy and frustrated” (15).
He wrote that the sources also expressed a drop in morale and suggested a “decrease in trust and credibility” from their perspective when it comes to messaging from their DHS bosses about the fatal shooting.
Taken together, the viral clip, ICE’s own job postings and recent reporting on the agency’s hiring push paint a more complicated picture than the officer’s confident claims suggest. Some agents clearly feel passionate about the job, with publicly available listings not advertising $200,000 salaries for field roles, highlighting the gap between viral claims and the details outlined in official recruiting materials.
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@nowthisimpact (1); @KimKatieUSA (2); USA Jobs (3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10); US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (5, 6); The Washington Post (11); Department of Homeland Security (12); Slate (13); New York Times (14); @BillMelugin_ (15)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
