ICE agents fear they're getting stiffed on hiring bonuses: 'I haven’t been paid'
While the Trump administration has promised high salaries and generous bonuses for federal immigration agent recruits, a wave of apparent new agents have taken to social media to complain about getting stiffed on everything from bonuses to health insurance, the International Business Times UK reported.
“Been here for about 2 months, still waiting for my health insurance… is anyone having that issue as well?” reads a post on the social media platform Reddit on an unofficial forum for deportation officers, reviewed by the Business Times.
“Mannnnn Monday is 4 weeks since I started and I haven’t been paid yet,” reads another post reviewed by the Business Times.
To help facilitate its mass deportations, the Trump administration has rushed to add 10,000 new immigration agents during its first year, promising generous benefits, pay and hiring bonuses for new recruits. The administration was successful in its hiring blitz, taking on more than 12,000 agents in a year and receiving more than 220,000 applications.
In its rush, however, at least according to the apparent immigration agents venting on social media, the Trump administration wasn’t making good on some of its promises.
“[They] told me they don’t how long it’ll take [to have health insurance take effect] and I have a sick daughter with no insurance,” reads a post reviewed by the International Business Times from an apparent immigration agent.
'Others claim five-figure signing bonuses have not materialized," the report went on.
The Trump administration’s rush to expand its federal immigration enforcement workforce has also, according to independent journalist Ken Klippenstein, produced a wave of “sketchy” recruits, most of whom were “idiots” according to one senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
“A lot of the guys are honestly pretty sketchy,” a recent ICE recruit told Klippenstein on the condition of anonymity. “I thought federal agents were supposed to be clean cut but some of them pass around a flask as we are watching a suspect.”