Imagery used in recruitment ads shows ICE agents in tactical gear. (Department of Homeland Security )
But as DHS ramps up recruiting and expands enforcement operations, Hagelsieb told Fox News Digital the rhetoric and imagery represent a shift from past efforts — one that, in his view, "definitely attracts a different kind of people."
Recent recruitment materials promoted by DHS and ICE include a mix of tactical and pop-culture imagery. One social media post shows a retro-style van alongside the caption, "Want to deport illegals with your absolute boys?" followed by the line, "Think about how many illegals you could fit in this bad boy!"
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Another ad reads, "No age cap. Join ICE now," and features two men in camouflage and tactical-style vests — one appearing significantly older than the other.
"You’re pushing this agenda that you’re doing it … to repel these invaders," Hagelsieb said. "This isn’t combat."
He added that visuals of agents in battle dress and armored vehicles in cities like Minneapolis and Chicago had him "concerned," saying the optics do not match the mission.
DHS, for its part, says recruitment messaging does not reflect any change in vetting, training or standards for immigration enforcement officers, even as hiring accelerates.
According to DHS, assaults on immigration agents rose more than 1,300% in 2025. (DHS)
"Traditionally, Homeland Security — specifically Customs and Border Protection and ICE — have recruited for law enforcement, not for military-style operations," Lapan told Fox News Digital. "What we’re seeing now is different than anything I’ve seen across administrations, Democrat and Republican."
Lapan also questioned the growing use of Border Patrol agents in interior enforcement operations, saying the agencies historically were designed for distinct missions.
"Border Patrol’s job was close to the border," he said. "ICE handled interior enforcement. Mixing those missions is dangerous."
In the aftermath of the shootings and the protests that followed, Trump sent Tom Homan, a former acting ICE director, to Minnesota to take over oversight of federal immigration enforcement operations from Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino.
"I’m not here because the federal government has carried out this mission perfectly," Homan said Thursday. "I don’t want to see anybody die — not officers, not members of the community, not the targets of operations."
"Think about how many criminal illegal aliens you can fit in this bad boy!" ICE ad says. (DHS)
Bovino’s leadership of the operation had drawn scrutiny from local officials and former federal agents over the use of Border Patrol personnel in interior city enforcement and the optics and messaging surrounding the mission.
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"It’s unfair to those agents, because they’re not trained for that," Hagelsieb said.
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS and ICE for comment and did not receive any replies.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/inside-ices-wartime-hiring-surge-doubling-force-critics-warn-militarized-policing