WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held a press conference Friday in Chicago to give an update on illegal immigration enforcement. She also said the governor of Illinois and the mayor of Chicago are not doing enough to protect their citizens.
“I’m here today because elected leaders in this state of Illinois are ignoring the law, in fact they’re being obstructionists when it comes to getting dangerous criminals off of their streets,” Noem said, adding, “They’d rather be a sanctuary state and continue to put those individuals above American citizens.”
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She then highlighted four recent arrests carried out by federal officials in the Chicago area.
Noem also said ICE officers are facing a thousand-percent increase in assaults against them. She said the policies of so-called sanctuary cities are part of that.
The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that it is removing age limits for new hires at the agency responsible for immigration enforcement, as it aims to expand hiring after a massive infusion of cash from Congress.
The department said in a news release that it would waive age limits for new applicants so “even more patriots will qualify to join ICE,” the agency responsible for finding, arresting, detaining and removing people who are in the U.S. illegally.
The agency is at the center of the Trump administration’s efforts to carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Earlier this summer Congress passed a spending bill that gives ICE money to hire 10,000 more staff.
Currently, ICE applicants must be 21 years old and no older than 37 or 40, depending on what position they are applying for.
In an interview with Fox & Friends, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said applicants could be as young as 18.
“We no longer have a cap on how old you can be or you can continue at age 18, sign up for ICE and join us and be a part of it. We’ll get you trained and ready to be equipped to go out on the streets and help protect families,” Noem said.
The department said all recruits would have to go through medical and drug screening and complete a physical fitness test.
The agency promoted the age-limit changes on social media with enthusiastic tones, casting the immigration-enforcement efforts as not only patriotic but also epic and even cinematic.
One post was accompanied by an image that looked like a recruiting poster showing images of a young man and an older man, both wearing military style tactical gear and holding weapons with the words “NO AGE CAP JOIN ICE NOW” emblazoned on the bottom. “We’re taking father/son bonding to a whole new level,” it said.
Another showed an advertisement for a Ford Club Wagon — a large van once popular for how many people it could carry — with the words: “Think about how many criminal illegal aliens you could fit in this bad boy?”
Written at the bottom of the image was the words “Want to deport illegals with your absolute boys?” Absolute boys is a slang term used to praise someone.
ICE earlier announced a recruiting campaign aimed at finding and hiring the deportation officers, investigators and lawyers it will need to meet its hiring goals.
As part of that campaign the agency is offering an eye-catching bonus of up to $50,000 for new recruits as well as other benefits like student loan forgiveness and abundant overtime for deportation officers.