Officials staffing the U.S. legal immigration system have been asked to volunteer to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, according to an internal notice obtained by CBS News, another sign the Trump administration is prioritizing deportation efforts.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) employees were asked this week to sign up for 60-day assignments — or what the government calls “details” — to assist ICE, the agency charged with carrying out President Trump’s mass deportation promise.
The assignments, which could be extended beyond 60 days, are slated to start on March 10 and are planned for different states, according to the internal request sent by Kika Scott, who is leading USCIS in an acting capacity. Two officials at the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS and ICE, confirmed the authenticity of the email to CBS News.
“Leadership should make every effort to support participation and approve details unless the employee’s absence will have an extreme negative effect on mission accomplishment, including supporting other critical department priorities,” the email to USCIS staff said.
USCIS employees administer the nation’s legal immigration system and review applications for a wide-ranging group of benefits, from requests for U.S. citizenship and permanent residency to work permit and asylum cases.
ICE, on the other hand, is responsible for enforcing U.S. immigration laws in the interior of the country by identifying, arresting, detaining and deporting unauthorized immigrants.
The internal email did not detail how exactly USCIS volunteers would help ICE operations. But a Department of Homeland Security source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said the USCIS volunteers could be assigned to help with detainee processing, case management, records checks and data entry.
Representatives for DHS did not respond to requests for comment.
The email to USCIS employees stated that while most staff at the 20,000-employee agency could apply for the ICE assignments, the Trump administration is primarily looking to enlist the assistance of those with immigration experience.
“Employees from any job series and grade may apply, but ICE particularly needs employees with relevant experience to support its operations, including immigration officers, immigration services officers, refugee officers, and mission and operations support personnel,” the email said.
The request for volunteers is the latest step taken by the Trump administration to identify and marshal manpower and resources across the federal government to support its efforts to arrest and deport many of the millions of immigrants living in the U.S. unlawfully.
The Trump administration has already empowered law enforcement officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Internal Revenue Service; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the State Department; and other federal agencies to carry out immigration enforcement operations.
It has also directed the Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Prisons to let ICE use some of their facilities to hold migrant detainees awaiting deportation, including the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Officials at ICE’s investigative branch, Homeland Security Investigations, which has long focused on fighting child exploitation, human trafficking and other serious crimes, have also been assigned to carry out immigration arrests.
While ICE has been able to expand arrest operations across the country under Mr. Trump, it continues to face the same operational and financial challenges it has faced under Democratic and Republican administrations.
As of earlier this week, ICE’s network of for-profit prisons and county jails was at 120% capacity, holding more than 46,000 immigrants facing deportation, despite currently being structured for 38,500 detainees, according to internal agency data.
