ICE applications reach 175K amid agency hiring spree

Trump himself has hoped to remove as many as 21 million illegal aliens from the country and, thus far, as many as 2.2 million foreign-born persons have left the U.S., voluntarily or otherwise.

By Ben Whedon

Published: October 16, 2025 11:09am

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reached 175,000 applications as the agency works to build up its staff to support President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda.

" I just got the numbers hot off the press earlier. It’s 175,000 Americans [who] have applied to join ICE," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told Breitbart News. "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."

"They saw how [during] the last four years, this nation was brought to its knees with this scourge of illegal immigration, and they want to protect their communities and where they come from," she added.

The agency received funding to hire 10,000 agents as part of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act earlier this year. Trump himself has hoped to remove as many as 21 million illegal aliens from the country and, thus far, as many as 2.2 million foreign-born persons have left the U.S., voluntarily or otherwise.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.