ICE has drawn up a $100 million “wartime recruitment” plan that uses targeted ads and influencers to recruit Fox News viewers, UFC fans, and gun nuts into its ranks, according to a report.
The blueprint, detailed in an internal document reviewed by The Washington Post, lays out a one-year spending blitz aimed at drawing gun-rights supporters and military enthusiasts into Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the Donald Trump administration expands its mass-deportation push.
According to the Post, the 30-page strategy calls for ICE to “flood the market” with recruitment messaging across platforms ranging from Snapchat to conservative-friendly video services like Rumble, while also leaning on an ad-industry tactic known as “geofencing”—pushing ads to phones that pass through designated locations.
The targeted zones include military bases, NASCAR races, college campuses, and gun and trade shows, the outlet says.
The plan also sketches out how ICE intends to reach its ideal recruits. It proposes targeting people who consume conservative media and “patriotic” content, including listeners of conservative radio and “patriotism” podcasts, as well as users interested in “gun rights organizations” and “tactical gear brands,” the Post reported.
The imagery is not subtle. Recruitment messaging has cast immigration enforcement as existential defense, with Uncle Sam-style graphics. The strategy document’s cover features ICE deputy director Madison Sheahan, 28— a former aide to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, 54—photographed in a “police” vest and ICE badge.
Influencers are also key to the strategy. The document calls for at least $8 million to partner with creators popular among Gen Z and millennials in “military families,” “fitness,” and “tactical/lifestyle enthusiast” circles—an effort the Post says was expected to produce more than 5,000 applications at roughly $1,500 per application.
The goal is headcount and speed. ICE is desperate to add more than 10,000 employees to its existing workforce of more than 20,000, and the Post reports that the strategy document is designed to accelerate hiring for Enforcement and Removal Operations officers, Homeland Security Investigations agents, attorneys, and support staff.
One former ICE leader warned that the framing risks attracting applicants looking for combat rather than enforcement. Sarah Saldaña, who ran ICE under President Barack Obama, told the paper that she worries the “war” tone and rapid onboarding could pull in untrained recruits “eager for all-out combat,” and that it could “inculcate” an unnecessary aggressiveness into day-to-day work.
It is not clear what has been fully implemented as it stands. The Post reports that public ad libraries show ICE spending on Google and Meta is far below the proposed budget for those platforms so far, and that the agency did not answer questions about the total spent or whether the strategy had changed.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: “While we won’t confirm or deny leaked documents and their legitimacy, we are thrilled to see the Washington Post highlight President Trump and Secretary Noem’s wildly successful ICE recruitment campaign, which is under budget and ahead of schedule.”
She said they had received 220,000 applications over five months and made more than 18,000 tentative offers.
The recruiting surge is part of a larger enforcement buildout. The Post notes that Congress in summer 2025 increased ICE’s enforcement and deportation budget to roughly $30 billion, and ICE has dangled signing bonuses up to $50,000 while also removing age limits for applicants.
In March, DHS began rolling out a self-deportation campaign centered on the CBP Home app—an app the department has promoted heavily even as critics question its functionality and rollout. DHS paired the app push with a broader ad “blitz.”
The department’s spending in this area has drawn scrutiny. Citing federal contracting records, a ProPublica investigation found that a massive $220 million DHS TV ad contract went to a newly formed firm, Safe America Media, and other GOP-aligned consultants and entities.
ProPublica reported that The Strategy Group, run by a Noem ally who is married to DHS mouthpiece McLaughlin, received ad work from Safe America Media, raising ethics questions flagged by contracting experts.
