The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced today the launch of a full-scale recruitment campaign. They are pressuring civilian employees to volunteer assistance and plugging them into the DHS’ efforts to ramp up immigration enforcement and deportation efforts. Meanwhile, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is intensifying its crackdown as nationwide ICE arrests are increasing by as much as 250 percent. In just northern California, detentions exploded by 123% from January 2023 to July 2024.
The Pentagon’s plan to counter this cost includes constructing new detention facilities around the country. Perhaps the most surprising areas are places like Nebraska, Florida, and military bases such as Fort Bliss in Texas. As of now, Fort Bliss has started moving migrants into temporary tent structures, which can hold up to 5,000 people. While we celebrate this development in principle, it’s a stark reminder of how dire the immigration crisis is today.
In June, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth approved the activation of civilian personnel. Here’s why. They will enable the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which contains many of America’s fastest growing agencies. The Secretary of Defense has already authorized DoD civilian employees to join operations at the Department of Homeland Security. Specifically, they will help with events related to the Southern Border and support the interior immigration enforcement initiatives.
The goal of the initiative seems plain: To give ICE and the border patrol even more support they sorely need. Soon after, hundreds of FEMA employees were diverted from their work on disasters to help with ICE raids. Yet the Pentagon has slightly less than double that number—about 950,000 civilians—service members. Their recruitment campaign directly solicits these employees to volunteer for deployments that often include significant time on the road.
The assignments can be as long as 180 days. They will need to be fortified at facilities along the U.S. southern border and across the rest of the nation’s interior. Positions provide a generous salary range ($25,684 – $191,900). While deployed, employees retain their full salary and benefits. The positions require a significant amount of travel—76% or more—and make no provision for remote or telework flexibility.
Volunteers are being asked to do a lot more than ever before. These functionalities encompass data entry, support for operational planning, throughput/logistics processing, and logistical support. The department further spread the word about this special opportunity to its civilian workforce with an email blast last Wednesday.
Additionally, this recruitment campaign is being rolled out alongside a very large advertising effort. It fits well with their planned ad campaign running in September called “Stronger Border, Stronger America.” It seeks to further incentivize the DHS’s dangerous and unlawful immigration enforcement with a lowball budget of $20-50 million.
ICE agents are now accompanying federal immigration agents from ICE during police traffic stops targeting food delivery drivers in Washington D.C. This is not the first instance of a partnership between local law enforcement and federal immigration agencies.
The Biden administration has their hands full with related immigration crises. To address these concerns, the agency is taking real, tangible actions to enhance enforcement capabilities along the border and across the U.S. interior. To address this rapidly escalating public safety crisis, the Pentagon has activated its civilian workforce. This move is indicative of the increased appetite for resources throughout the Department of Homeland Security.