ICE Cancels $50,000 Bonus Plan for Agents to Rev Up Deportations Less Than Four Hours After Launch: Report

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abruptly canceled a pilot bonus program that would have rewarded agents for quickly deporting immigrants less than four hours after announcing it internally, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

According to internal emails reviewed by the Times, the plan—intended as a 30-day pilot—would have granted ICE agents $200 for each deportation of individuals within seven days of arrest, and $100 for deportations completed within 14 days.

The memo, signed by ICE field operations official Liana J. Castano, stated the initiative aimed to reduce deportation backlogs and cut detention costs. Agents were encouraged to use expedited removal processes or offer voluntary departures to detainees.

Shortly after The New York Times asked ICE about the policy, Castano sent a follow-up message instructing staff to "PLEASE DISREGARD" the initial memo. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told the Times afterwards that the program "had not been authorized by agency leaders," and asserted that "no such policy is in effect or has ever been in effect."

The attempted launch and swift withdrawal of the program come amid a broader and intensifying effort by the Trump administration to expand immigration enforcement and deportations. ICE's annual budget recently grew from roughly $8 billion to $28 billion under a new domestic policy bill signed by President Trump. The agency has pledged to hire 10,000 new agents and is offering signing bonuses of up to $50,000.

Stephen Miller, Trump's longtime immigration adviser, promoted the hiring push on X, writing: "Want to mass deport illegals from Los Angeles? JOIN.ICE.GOV today and get a 50K signing/retention bonus. Make your family proud and be the hero America needs."

ICE confirmed in a July 31 statement that it had issued over 1,000 tentative job offers since July 4, extending incentives such as student loan forgiveness and retention bonuses. The recruitment push, however, has drawn criticism from local law enforcement partners. A recent ICE email, originally reported by NBC News, which targeted deputies in the 287(g) program, prompted backlash from sheriffs, who view the recruitment as undermining local-federal cooperation.

Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County, Florida, criticized the outreach, calling on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to "do what's right" and apologize, while Jonathan Thompson, executive director and CEO of the National Sheriffs' Association, warned that it could damage a relationship that had recently improved.