The Department of Defense sent an email to civilian employees Wednesday asking them to sign up for a “volunteer force” that will help both Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection with Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. A job application page says the Department of Defense's civilian employees would be deployed to ICE and CBP sites and that they may be expected to work under “austere conditions.”
“The Secretary of Defense has authorized DoD civilian employees to participate in details to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to contribute to its operations along the Southern Border and its internal immigration enforcement activities,” the email, seen by 404 Media, says. “Selected Department employees will have a chance to offer critical support to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as they fulfill the President’s intent to ensure a safe and orderly immigration system.”
The Department of Defense has roughly 950,000 civilian employees.
The email suggests that DHS is trying to recruit from within the Department of Defense for CBP and ICE, which has a vastly expanded budget and has been trying to hire new agents at a huge scale. The email, which was addressed to “DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES,” asks current civilian Department of Defense employees to apply for the force on the USA Jobs website. The application page says the employees would be working largely in support roles at “facilities along the U.S. border or ICE and CBP facilities throughout the interior of the United States … Locations will extend to other geographic areas according to the need. Conditions at some locations could be austere. Deployment locations are based on need and are not negotiable.”
“At the discretion of ICE and CBP, Detailees will be assigned to perform some or all of the following duties at the several ICE and CBP facilities throughout the interior of the United States:
- Data Entry: Enter and maintain data elements in relevant information systems;
- Operational Planning Support: Assist ICE and CBP in developing concepts of operation and campaign plans to execute internal arrests and raids as well as patrols along the Southwest Border (SWB);
- Processing and Throughput Logistics: Assist ICE and CBP in managing the physical flow of detained illegal aliens from arrest to deportation, as well as manage associated data;
- Logistical Support: Assist ICE and CBP in managing the logistical planning to move law enforcement personnel, operational capabilities, and support equipment across the United States to improve efficiencies and the effectiveness of operations.”
In recent weeks, the Trump administration deployed the Marines to Los Angeles and deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington D.C. The Los Angeles deployments were in response to widespread protests against ICE raids in the city, but the military itself was not conducting immigration enforcement.
The email references a June memo sent by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to "senior Pentagon leadership" that reads "In support of the President' s priority of securing our borders, I am authorizing the detail of Department of Defense (DoD) civilian employees to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to support its operations at the United States southern border and with internal immigration enforcement."
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