Some immigration officers say they were promised good pay, bonuses, and benefits when they signed up, but now they feel let down. Even though the government talked up high salaries and generous signing bonuses, several new agents are posting online that they have not received basic things they were told to expect, like paychecks or health insurance. These complaints have been appearing on social media, especially on Reddit forums used by deportation officers.
One new officer wrote that they had been on the job for about two months and still did not have health insurance. They asked if anyone else was dealing with the same problem. Another person said it had been four weeks since they started work and they still had not been paid at all. These posts suggest that the problems are not just small delays, but serious issues affecting daily life.
The Trump administration moved very quickly to hire more immigration agents as part of its plan to increase deportations. The goal was to bring in 10,000 new agents in the first year. To make that happen, officials advertised strong benefits, good pay, and large signing bonuses. The hiring push worked in terms of numbers. More than 12,000 agents were hired in a year, and over 220,000 people applied for the jobs.
But according to these online complaints, the fast hiring process may have caused problems behind the scenes. Some new agents say the government has not followed through on what it promised. One person said they were told no one knew how long it would take for their health insurance to start. They added that they have a sick daughter and no insurance to help cover her care. Others say the large signing bonuses they were promised, sometimes worth tens of thousands of dollars, never showed up.
The rapid expansion may also have affected the quality of new recruits. Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein reported that even some experienced ICE staff are concerned. One senior ICE agent reportedly described many of the new hires as questionable and poorly suited for the job. A recent recruit, speaking anonymously, said some of the new agents did not act professionally. They said it was surprising to see behavior like passing around a flask while watching a suspect, which did not match the image they had of federal agents being disciplined and professional.
