What happened
The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday it was dropping its age requirements for new ICE applicants as it rushes to hire 10,000 agents following a massive infusion of funding from Congress.
Who said what
DHS said it was waiving age limits "so even more patriots" could join President Donald Trump's mass deportation effort, though all recruits must still undergo a "medical screening, drug screening and complete a physical fitness test." ICE is touting an "eye-catching bonus of up to $50,000" and other perks for new recruits, The Associated Press said, and it "promoted the age-limit changes on social media with enthusiastic tones," casting deportation raids as "epic and even cinematic."
The new policy has "prompted questions" about whether ICE was "having trouble attracting qualified candidates," said The Hill. Many other law enforcement agencies are "also struggling to attract new hires," Scripps News said, and "ICE has a more controversial mission."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
More than 100 FEMA employees have been "involuntarily reassigned" to ICE to "help vet and process new hires," The Washington Post said. DHS said the reassignment would last 90 days and would not "disrupt FEMA's critical operations." But several "officials said forcing this many people to take reassignments during hurricane season, when the agency is already stretched thin," could "greatly slow operations," according to the Post.
-
Choline: the ‘under-appreciated’ nutrientThe Explainer Studies link choline levels to accelerated ageing, anxiety, memory function and more
-
Is a Putin-Modi love-in a worry for the rest of the world?Today’s Big Question The Indian leader is walking a ‘tightrope’ between Russia and the United States
-
Quiz of The Week: 29 November – 5 DecemberQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
-
Hegseth’s Signal chat put troops in peril, probe findsSpeed Read The defense secretary risked the lives of military personnel and violated Pentagon rules, says new report
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
-
Hegseth blames ‘fog of war’ for potential war crimespeed read ‘I did not personally see survivors,’ Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting
-
Canada joins EU’s $170B SAFE defense fundspeed read This makes it the first non-European Union country in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says
