Pentagon recruits civilian employees to form ‘volunteer force’ to aid Ice

As US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigrants intensifies, the country’s Department of Defence is recruiting civilian employees to join the current administration’s mass deportation campaign. The Pentagon is asking staff to sign up for deployments to immigration enforcement facilities across the United States.

In light of this, the Department of Defence has posted a job listing requesting that civilian and federal employees apply to join a “volunteer force” supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations. On Wednesday, the Pentagon reportedly emailed civilian employees asking them to take up this opportunity.

“The Secretary of Defence has authorised DoD civilian employees to participate in details to the Department of Homeland Security to contribute to its operations along the Southern Border and its internal immigration enforcement activities,” reads the email, obtained by 404Media. It is important to note that roughly 950,000 civilian employees work for the Pentagon.

The email noted that the selected employees would offer “critical support” to ICE and the border patrol police, “as they fulfil the President’s intent to ensure a safe and orderly immigration system”.

Volunteers may engage in operational tasks

While speaking to The Guardian, a defence official confirmed the initiative. “The Secretary of Defence memorandum signed on Jun 1, 2025, ‘Detailing of Department of Defence Civilians Employees to Support the Department of Homeland Security’ allows DoD civilians employees to participate in a detail for up to 180 days, supporting the Department of Homeland Security’s operations on the southern border,” the Pentagon official said.

The official noted that the volunteer duties may include “data entry, operational planning support, processing and throughput logistics, and logistical support”. Meanwhile, the job posting made it clear that deployment locations “are not negotiable” and conditions “could be austere”.

It also states that assignments could last up to 180 days at facilities along the border and throughout the US interior, and detailing means the staff keep their salary and benefits.

It is pertinent to note that the initiative stems from a June memorandum issued by the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, that authorises the civilian employee deployments “in support of the President’s priority of securing our borders”. The memo specifically enables both reimbursable and non-reimbursable details to DHS for southern border operations and “internal immigration enforcement”.

The Pentagon initiative comes as the Trump administration works to expand immigration enforcement personnel, infrastructure and operations across the country. Last month, Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill Act, which allocated a budget for an additional 10,000 ICE agents, and ICE is reportedly offering signing bonuses of up to $50,000 and has reduced its age requirements to expand its forces.