ICE Plans Recruitment at Gun Shows and Military Fans

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Officials are Planning to spend $100 million over a One-year Period to Recruit Gun-Rights Supporters and Military Enthusiasts through Online Influencers and a Geo-Targeted Advertising Campaign, part of what ICE called a “Wartime Recruitment” Strategy it said was Critical to Hiring Thousands of New Deportation Officers Nationwide.

The Spending would help Trump’s (R) Mass-Deportation Agenda Dominate Media Networks and Recruitment Channels, including Through Ads Targeting People who have attended UFC Fights, listened to Patriotic Podcasts or shown an interest in Guns and Tactical Gear, according to a 30-page Document distributed among Officials in this Summer Detailing ICE’s “surge hiring marketing strategy.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has spoken Publicly about its Fast-Tracked effort to Significantly increase ICE’s Workforce by Hiring more than 10,000 New Employees, a Surge Promoted on Social Media with Calls for Recruits willing to Perform their “Sacred Duty” and “defend the homeland” by Repelling “Foreign Invaders.” The Agency currently Employs more than 20,000 People, according to ICE’s website.

But the Document Reveals New Details about the Vast Scale of the Recruitment Effort and its Unconventional Strategy to “flood the market” with millions-of-dollars in Spending for Snapchat Ads, Influencers, and Live Streamers on Rumble, a Video Platform Popular with Conservatives. Under the Strategy, ICE would also use an Ad-Industry Technique known as “Geofencing” to send Ads to Phones, Web Browsers, and Social Media Feeds of Anyone who set foot near Military Bases, NASCAR Races, College Campuses, or Gun and TradeSshows.

The Document was also distributed among ICE Officials in the days after the Agency published a Request for Bids seeking Contractors who could use “precise audience targeting, performance media management, and results-driven creative strategies” to “accelerate the achievement of [its] recruiting goals.” The Language in the Published Bid closely mirrored Language in the Strategy Document. That same month, DHS Awarded Two Marketing Firms nearly $40 million to Support ICE’s Public Affairs Office “Recruitment Campaign,” according to Federal Awards Data.

The rapid-recruitment approach is unlike anything ICE has ever pursued, said Sarah Saldaña (D), a Director of ICE during the Obama Administration, who Recalled the Agency Filling its Open Positions through Local Police Departments and Sheriff’s Offices with Appeals to Officers’ interests in Federal Public-Safety Work.

She said She worries that the Speed with which ICE is Racing to bring on New Hires, Coupled with the Ad Campaign’s framing of the Jobs as part of a War, will raise the Risk that the Agency could Attract Untrained Recruits eager for All-Out Combat.

To Bolster its Recruiting, the Agency has Removed its Age Limits for Applicants, and offered Signing Bonuses of Up to $50,000. A Job Listing on a Federal Hiring Board said the Salaries for many Deportation Officers could range from $50,000 to $90,000 a year.










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