The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reportedly investing millions in television advertising across various metropolitan areas in the country.
The objective of this campaign is to recruit local law enforcement officers who are dissatisfied with their cities' restrictions on immigration enforcement, according to an Associated Press tally. This move is part of President Donald Trump's broader initiative to bolster immigration enforcement.
"You took an oath to protect and serve, to keep your family, your city, safe," the narrator in the advertisement asserts, as images of targeted cities and ICE agents apprehending individuals flash across the screen. "But in sanctuary cities, you're ordered to stand down while dangerous illegals walk free."
As reported by the Associated Press, the campaign is currently airing in over a dozen cities, including Chicago, Seattle, and Atlanta. It forms part of ICE's ambitious $30 billion initiative to recruit an additional 10,000 deportation officers by year's end, thereby significantly ramping up deportation operations.
This funding is a fraction of the $76.5 billion requested by Trump's Republican administration for ICE, representing a tenfold increase in its current budget. This request was part of the sweeping, multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts bill enacted in July.
ICE is already offering enticing incentives such as bonuses of up to $50,000 and tuition reimbursement to expedite the hiring process. Despite parts of the federal government being shut down due to Congress' failure to pass a spending measure last week, the ICE advertisements indicate that the drive for mass deportations, a top priority for the Trump administration, remains well-funded.
The advertisements commence with footage of each metro's recognizable skyline, followed by the narrator's voice inviting officers to "join ICE and help us catch the worst of the worst. Drug traffickers. Gang members. Predators," according to a review of the ads on the ad-tracking service AdImpact.
The 30-second spots began airing in mid-September in cities such as Albuquerque, New Mexico; Boston; Chicago; Denver; New York; Philadelphia; Sacramento, California; Seattle; and Washington, D.C. Additional cities were added to the list a week ago, including Atlanta; Dallas; El Paso, Texas; Houston; Miami; Salt Lake City; and San Antonio.
As of Friday, total spending on the ads had exceeded $5.7 million, with the most significant expenditure since mid-September being $853,745 in the Seattle area. However, Atlanta saw the most spending in the past week, $794,084, according to AdImpact.
The term 'sanctuary jurisdiction' does not have a standard definition, but it generally refers to cities or states that limit their cooperation with ICE. Some, but not all, of the cities targeted by the ads appear on a Justice Department list of cities that "impede enforcement of federal immigration laws."
When asked to clarify why certain areas were chosen for advertising, Department of Homeland Security officials declined to provide an explanation. Instead, they responded with a September 16 press release, issued at the onset of the ad campaign, stating that they had received over 150,000 applications and had extended 18,000 tentative job offers.
Some cities where the ads have been aired, particularly Boston and Chicago, have been repeatedly criticized by the Trump administration for their policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. ICE has initiated immigration crackdowns in both of these cities. Local officials in Chicago have been particularly vocal in their opposition to the increased enforcement.
In contrast, Albuquerque is among the smallest metropolitan areas where the ads are being broadcast. However, the city's mayor, Tim Keller, has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration's immigration policy.
In July, Keller signed an executive order prohibiting city employees from assisting federal authorities with civil immigration enforcement "unless legally required."
The Associated Press reached out to police departments in areas where the ads were running. Most departments either did not respond or stated they did not comment on the actions of external agencies. A few, including Sacramento and Miami, said they had not noticed any of their officers leaving for positions at ICE or DHS.
Four of the markets where the ads are playing are in Texas, including San Antonio. Danny Diaz, the president of the city's Police Officers Association, expressed concern about potential recruits who might be considering joining the city's police department opting for ICE instead. "We can't compete with a $50,000 signing bonus," Diaz said. "I do think that the younger generation will jump on that."
However, Diaz also noted that the government shutdown could potentially dampen ICE's recruitment hopes. "They're furloughing federal employees, and I don't think individuals want to leave one department to go work for a federal agency when they don't know if they're going to receive a check or not," he said, referring to the lapse in funding that has led to federal law enforcement officers going without pay.
Philadelphia police Capt. John Walker suggested that it's too early to determine whether the ad campaign has impacted the city's recruiting. Instead, he proposed that the ads seemed more designed to reassure viewers that the Trump administration was addressing illegal immigration. "It's the psychological feel. You want to know that there are cops out there because it makes you feel good," said Walker, who's in charge of Philadelphia police recruiting. "That's all this is, strengthening the belief that they're doing something."
The advertising blitz comes at a time when law enforcement departments across the country are grappling with meeting staffing demands. This move by ICE, therefore, not only underscores the Trump administration's commitment to enforcing immigration laws but also highlights the challenges faced by local law enforcement agencies in maintaining their ranks in the face of attractive federal incentives.
Login