The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ramped up its marketing in an effort to expand its workforce by 75%, a move coinciding with President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement in Chicago.
The recruitment push has appeared in Chicago with one commercial that appeared on ESPN asking law enforcement officers to apply for ICE, urging recruits to “fulfill your mission” to “protect America.”
“Attention Chicago law enforcement,” the ad said, with a backdrop of the city’s skyline. “You took an oath to protect and serve, to keep your family, your city safe. But in sanctuary cities, you’re ordered to stand down.”
The commercial, like other recent ICE advertisements on TV, radio and social media, lauds a signing bonus of up to $50,000, student loan repayment of up to $60,000 and loan forgiveness options, as well as other benefits.
Chicago has been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration’s deportation campaign, and it has accelerated with this month’s launch of “Operation Midway Blitz” under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
A spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said in a statement that the advertisement targeting Chicago officers sets back the work he and Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling have done to increase the CPD’s retention rate, which has been notably poor in the past decade.
“The President’s desire to poach officers from CPD’s ranks has the potential to decrease the number of police officers serving on the streets of Chicago and would only undermine our public safety efforts, which have led to historic decreases in violent crime,” Johnson’s spokesperson said.
ICE’s marketing campaign aims to help bring in 14,050 new hires and generate more than 42 million views among its target audience, which includes former military and law enforcement personnel, legal professionals, Gen Z and early-career professionals, according to procurement documents filed by ICE last month.
“ICE is facing a critical and time-sensitive need to significantly increase its workforce to meet expanding operational demands,” the documents state. It notes the agency is looking to hire enforcement officers, Homeland Security investigations agents, lawyers and support staff.
The agency already has around 21,000 employees. In July, funding for the DHS and ICE increased drastically, with $170 billion allocated to immigration and border enforcement, and ICE’s budget tripled to about $30 billion.
DHS officials said Tuesday that the agency has received more than 150,000 applications for ICE from across the country, and it has extended more than 18,000 job offers, though the recruitment timeline is unclear.
The procurement documents also said ICE was looking to contract with a women-owned small business for its ad campaigns.
Virginia-based Marcom Group, which describes itself as a woman-owned small business, has a $47.5 million contract with DHS through Sept. 25 for “marketing and advertising recruitment services.”
Marcom Group couldn’t be reached for comment. An ICE official didn’t expand on details of the agency’s marketing campaign.
John Paul Rollert, University of Chicago’s professor of behavioral science, likened ICE’s advertising blitz to the U.S. Army’s “We Want You” campaign featuring Uncle Sam during World War I and World War II. He said it’s a similar call to join the federal government to take action and address an “urgent problem.”
“When you’ve decided that the scope of the need is as big as the Trump administration believes it to be, you have a personnel issue. You need to hire as many people as you possibly can and cast as wide a net as you can and get people as quickly as you can,” Rollert said. “If Chicago is one of those parts of the country that they have determined they need to catch a lot of people, then you’re going to have to hire a lot of people who are already there to do it.”
ICE said in its procurement documents that it wants to advertise on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and streaming platforms like Hulu and HBO Max.
In Chicago, commercials have aired on ABC, ESPN, CBS, Fox, Telemundo, Univision and WGN. Spokespersons for those companies either did not return a message seeking comment or declined to comment.
“Clearly they [media companies] neither have a principled objection against what ICE is doing nor do they fear reprisal for running those ads,” Rollert said.
Other commercials call on people to “join the mission” to “catch the worst of the worst.”
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has appeared in commercials as part of a multi-million dollar ad campaign “warning illegal aliens to leave our country now or face deportation with the inability to return to the United States.”
She and Trump have also appeared in social media ads calling on people to “Defend the Homeland.”
Rollert said ICE’s advertising bombardment doesn’t come as a surprise because of Trump’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement and because a niche audience is most likely to apply.
“These are people who will be entrusted with the use of violence, lawful violence, to accomplish government goals,” he said. “It’s not just that you need 14,000 people. You need 14,000, ideally, very specific people.”