Over 40 and eager to join ICE? Here's who can now join the force

The nation's immigration enforcement agency has lifted the age cap that prevented older adults from applying to become deportation agents.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been aggressively recruiting to hire as many as 10,000 deportation agents and support staff – but the cutoff for prospective candidates to apply had ended at age 37 or 40, depending on the position.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem now says anyone over 18 can apply to work for ICE, as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement across the country. Seniors included.

"We've removed any of the age barriers," Noem told Fox News on Aug. 6. "We no longer have a cap on how old you can be. You can continue at age 18. Sign up for ICE and join us and be a part of it."

The agency's recruitment website features a rendition of the pale-faced "Uncle Sam" Army recruitment poster of the 1940s with the tagline: "America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out."

ICE has new money to grow its ranks.

In July, Congress approved nearly $30 billion in funding to bolster its enforcement and removal efforts, including hiring thousands of new agents. The agency had roughly 6,000 deportation agents on staff at the close of the Biden administration.

Noem told Fox News on Aug. 6 that the Department of Homeland Security had already received 80,000 applications.

"It's overwhelming the response," she said.

The federal government has notoriously struggled to recruit and hire qualified law enforcement officers, particularly for agencies under the DHS umbrella.

A Government Accountability Office report in 2024 found "negative perceptions of law enforcement" were a barrier to recruiting more qualified people, as was a polygraph test that would fail people who lied about prior marijuana use. U.S. Customs and Border Protection revised its restrictions on prior drug use.

But DHS agencies have also historically taken nearly a year or more to review and hire job candidates.

Between 2018 and 2024, it was taking CBP, on average, more than 300 days to hire a Border Patrol agent and more than 500 days to hire a new customs officer, according to the report.

Lauren Villagran can be reached at [email protected].