Trump is Recruiting for ICE at DoD and VA

As I sat in the waiting room for my annual physical, I was shown a video recruiting me to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

As you may have heard by now, especially if you’re a Department of Defense civil servant or a military Veteran, Trump is now actively exploiting a captive audience to join his gestapo.

First, as a Veteran, I receive emails from the VA about any number of things. In this week’s email, I got a recruitment notice to join ICE, accompanied by a video. I didn’t think much of this as I don’t usually watch what this administration sends me, but this week I actually went to my VA clinic for the first time in two years for my in-person physical.

While there, I first noticed all the LGBTQ+ support signs had been removed. But then, after I checked in and put my headphones in so I wouldn’t have to listen to the usual Fox News garbage they have on the TVs, I noticed that they were playing the ICE recruitment video IN THE WAITING ROOM. You can watch the 3 minute video here, but some of the details include the $50K signing bonus, the $60K student loan forgiveness, and the most concerning part - that they’ve expedited the hiring process by cutting it down to 2.5 weeks. That tells me they’re skipping the background check part of the hiring process, or somehow simply waiving it.

They played this recruitment video on a loop; blaring it at the Veterans waiting to see their providers. It felt dystopian, to say the least.

Next, multiple sources within the civil service at the Department of Defense (DoD) shared with me an email they received, with a link to USAJobs to be detailed - at their same rate of pay - to ICE. Here is the text from the email they received:

FOR DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES

Per the attached, 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.

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.

Applications for details will be accepted at https://www.usajobs.gov/job/842956200.

The process is as follows:

1. Apply at https://www.usajobs.gov/job/842956200.

2. DHS will review your application and documentation.

3. Once you have been vetted, DHS will coordinate with the appointed representative from your organization to obtain the necessary approval for your detail.

4. Once approval has been obtained, DHS will coordinate a start date and contact you about next steps if you have been immediately selected.

5. If qualified and not immediately selected, you will be kept in the applicant pool to fill additional needs as they arise.

When you click on the USAJobs link to apply, it says:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Volunteer Force (VF) provides Department of Defense civilian employees an opportunity to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in their commitment to ensuring a safe and orderly immigration system. Volunteers will serve in critical support roles up to 180 days at an ICE or CBP facility. Travel, lodging, and per diem may be reimbursed by the receiving agency. The detail is not a promotion opportunity.

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.

This detail does not have an education qualification requirement.

Depleting our DoD civilian support staff is a massive threat to national security, and recruiting from a pool of Veterans without background checks puts us all at risk. Veterans - many with severe PTSD - should not be geared up and put on the street without background checks. It’s exploitative and dangerous. Just my two cents.

If you are in the federal civil service and have any information you’d like the public to know about, please feel free to reach out to me on Signal at Muellershewrote.23; I will keep you anonymous. And while all my content is always free, I hope you’ll consider becoming a paid subscriber to support independent media.

~AG