Make America Safe Again: Law and order begins to take center stage

President Donald Trump made it clear on the campaign trail and upon entering office that law and order would return as the law of the land. Through executive orders empowering law enforcement at the local, state and federal level, many departments are offering financial incentives to join and meet the many challenges their departments face in the aftermath of Democrats' defunding efforts that come on the heels of opportunistic anarchy. 

After repeated petitions for more manpower, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser might see her pleas answered, as DC's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is aggressively recruiting new officers to police the nation's capital. With the D.C. Council approving a 13% pay raise, MPD is now utilizing an in-house marketing team to place digital ads and share social media posts highlighting the hiring blitz and incentives to join. New officers starting in October can earn $75,000 annually, plus a $25,000 sign-on bonus. 

Far-left Democrats swimming against the tide

Some lawmakers, like Congresswoman Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., have called out Democrats, telling Just the News last week that politicians are fueling rhetoric about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, resulting in violence. She cited specifically, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 

Last year, Fox News reported that California Governor Gavin Newsom had proposed a plan to defund the state’s police justice system. An organization founded by Hillary Clinton in the wake of her 2016 election defeat funneled $75,000 in 2022 to a left-wing “defund the police” group whose affiliate worked on a failed campaign to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department, according to The New York Post. 

"There are political leaders of this country that are giving dog whistles to people," Hageman said on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. "They know what they're doing. They need to stop this rhetoric about how ICE is kidnapping people off the streets, and they're showing up in unmarked cars."

"They (ICE agents) are enforcing the law, and they are following the law and what they are doing is they (lawmakers) are inciting these people to violence, and they know it, and they need to ratchet it down," Hageman said. 

"Protect the Nation" program recruits for ICE, awards signing bonuses

In July, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a recruitment campaign for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), named "Protect the Nation" to hire up to 10,000 new federal law enforcement officers. 

With a deadline at the end of 2025, the efforts supplement Trump's plan to deport at least 1 million illegal immigrants each year, prioritizing those with prior criminal records. The effort is backed by roughly $170 billion over five years, funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed earlier in 2025, which enhances budgets for border security and immigration enforcement. 

As a result of the recruitment strategies, targeted television ads now appear on some cable TV channels, as well as DHS ramping up appearances at job expos, printing flyers and increased social media promotions. 

As of September 17, DHS reports that it has received over 150,000 job applications to join ICE. Some recruits will receive $50,000 signing bonuses and six-figure salaries as the agency ramps up its mass deportation effort.

Law enforcement experience preferred

The most lucrative paychecks will go to retired agents and law enforcement. Sanctuary cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Sacramento, Denver, Albuquerque and Seattle have seen a surge in targeted recruitment ads, luring presumably frustrated law enforcement personnel who are eager to get back to the work of policing and protecting communities. 

New recruits can expect to make a fair bit less — between $50,000 and $90,000 per year in base salary.

Many police jurisdictions' responsibilities have overlapped with immigration enforcement. In places like Florida, that enforcement is supported and rewarded by Florida's State Board of Immigration Enforcement, composed of Governor Ron DeSantis, Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson. 

The board voted at a meeting on Tuesday to make $14,073,042.38 in grant awards to local police departments and county sheriff's offices around the state.