WP: US immigration forces seek hundreds of new offices amid massive hiring surge

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is seeking hundreds of new office spaces across the country to accommodate plans to hire over 10,000 new immigration officers and lawyers, according to federal officials and documents obtained by The Washington Post.

The search for office space is being handled by the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages federal real estate. High-level ICE staff have asked the GSA to secure roughly 300 new sites nationwide “as fast as possible,” officials said. Records show internal GSA meetings now discuss the so-called “ICE Surge.”

“We’re off to the races with the ICE effort,” one GSA message reads. “I’m trying to pack an hours worth of material into 30 mins.”

ICE’s expansion comes as the Trump administration increases enforcement efforts targeting undocumented immigrants. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem said the agency received over 150,000 applications from Americans hoping to join the effort, with tentative job offers extended to 18,000 applicants.

Congress recently tripled ICE’s enforcement and deportation budget to $29.9 billion and pledged $45 billion for construction of detention centers. ICE has lifted age caps for applicants and offered bonuses up to $50,000 for returning law enforcement officers.

Hiroshi Motomura, a UCLA law professor, said the expansion signals “a much broader, pervasive enforcement apparatus that’s going to be part of everyday contact between individuals and law enforcement.” He compared it to historical expansions of U.S. law enforcement, including post-9/11 policies and Cold War-era investigations.

The new offices will mainly serve two branches: the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, which prosecutes removal cases, and Enforcement and Removal Operations, responsible for the identification, arrest, detention, and removal of undocumented individuals.

By Sabina Mammadli