As predicted following its passage and signing into law in early July, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) has resulted in a surge in job applications at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Following that funding approval, hiring and training of sufficient personnel is the Trump Administration's next step to fulfill its promise of increased enforcement.
OBBA provided the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with nearly $16 billion for staffing alone. Within DHS, ICE is the agency responsible for, broadly speaking, the immigration enforcement process within the U.S., including identification, arrests, detention, and removal of undocumented individuals.
CBP is responsible for border security and protection, aiming to keep terrorists, individuals without lawful documentation, and others seeking to do harm to the U.S. from entering.
DHS's hiring plans "promise to transform the component agencies into behemoths with prodigious and unparalleled reach—if they can actually convince the people to come work for them."
This summer, both ICE and CBP have seen a surge in job applications. ICE received $8 billion to triple its workforce by hiring 10,000 officers and agents. It has seen 100,000 new job applications. CBP received $4 billion to hire 8,500 employees. It saw 50,000 new job applications in the period leading up to the passing of OBBA, a 40% increase from the same time period in 2024.
Heavy funding and a spike in job applications do not necessarily mean an immediate increase in enforcement, however. The Trump Administration "has imposed steep expectations on ICE to conduct 3,000 arrests a day and a million deportations by [his] first year in office," which "is roughly double" the current pace. While ICE has been busy in 2025, the end of year numerical goals may not be met. After hire, the training of ICE officers can be lengthy and challenging, even at an increased pace and with the lowering of training requirements and protocols. At CBP, there remain questions as to whether the applicant pool will yield enough willing, qualified applicants to accept positions. The agency has historically faced challenges in filling vacant positions, including due to the requirement enacted by Congress in 2010 that CBP law enforcement personnel take and pass a polygraph exam.
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