US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is facing a rare burst of internal dissent after newly hired employees began accusing the agency of failing to deliver basic pay and benefits weeks after they were brought on board.
Following a major recruitment push that added roughly 12,000 new agents, cracks are reportedly showing in ICE’s administrative systems. Officers have taken to Reddit to publicly vent their frustrations, describing financial stress and uncertainty that they say began almost immediately after starting work.
In candid posts now circulating far beyond law-enforcement circles, ICE employees recount going a month or longer without receiving a paycheque, struggling to activate health insurance, and seeing promised bonuses quietly delayed or reduced. Some say the situation has left families exposed at a time when they were assured federal benefits would be reliable.
As immigration enforcement ramps up nationwide, critics argue the complaints raise troubling questions about how an agency charged with enforcing federal law is allegedly failing to meet its most basic responsibilities to its own workforce.
One officer said they were unable to pay medical bills for a sick child because their insurance coverage had not yet taken effect. Others claim five-figure signing bonuses have yet to materialise. The breakdown has come at a critical moment, with front-line staff questioning whether the government can manage the workforce it spent millions recruiting.
What started as routine onboarding grievances has grown into a viral reckoning over how a major US federal agency treats its employees while aggressively expanding enforcement operations. As screenshots spread across social media, critics say the issue now looks less like red tape and more like institutional dysfunction, fuelling concerns about morale, accountability and the human cost behind America’s immigration enforcement system.
Much of the discussion is unfolding on the private subreddit r/ICE_ERO, an unofficial forum used by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations employees to exchange advice and share experiences. While not affiliated with the agency, the forum draws hundreds of officers discussing career issues and operational challenges.
so there’s a subreddit for ice agents to post about How It’s Going
— Miss Gender (@girldrawsghosts) February 1, 2026
let’s check in shall we? pic.twitter.com/ElR2Zb6Quf
In one widely shared post, a new hire said that after two months on the job they still lacked health insurance and were struggling to cover medical expenses for a sick child. Other contributors complained of confusion over payroll schedules and incentive payments. One officer mentioned a bonus of around £4,950 ($6,000) after taxes, but said deductions reduced the take-home amount to £4,125 ($5,000), highlighting frustration with how compensation is processed.
Another user wrote, “Monday is four weeks since I started and I haven’t been paid yet”, underscoring claims that delayed wages are affecting multiple employees rather than isolated cases.
ICE recruits are typically lured with assurances of competitive federal salaries and a comprehensive benefits package. Pay depends on role and experience, following the General Schedule scale, with entry-level Deportation Officers generally earning between £40,000 and £70,000 ($51,600–$84,000), with opportunities for increases through seniority and locality adjustments.
Officers may also qualify for Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime, which can add about 25% to base pay. Benefits are advertised as including health, dental, vision and life insurance, retirement coverage through the Federal Employees Retirement System, a Thrift Savings Plan similar to a 401(k), paid leave and federal holidays.
Recent recruitment drives have also promoted incentives such as signing bonuses of up to £40,000 ($50,000), student loan repayment assistance up to £48,000 ($60,000), and retention bonuses aimed at improving staffing levels.
Online reaction to the Reddit posts has been fierce. Commenters questioned how ICE employees believed the promises in the first place, with one asking, “how stupid do you have to be to think you’re actually going to get paid by this administration lmao”.
Another commenter claimed agents “do it for the violence, not the money”, suggesting their motivations were unrelated to compensation. Others used hostile language toward the agency, branding it a “criminal mob” and criticising its mission and tactics.
One post argued the situation was deserved, describing the work as “breaking into people’s houses and kidnapp[ing] people from school and their workplace as standard operating procedure”.
Another user wrote that it was “like working for the Gestapo for a month without pay”, using the analogy to emphasise what they see as the severity of ICE operations, adding that “selling out your fellow man to the ruling class will never pay off, and these idiots are learning that the hard way”.
An X user summed up the sentiment bluntly: “No one’s getting that bonus. It’s not gonna happen”.
Beyond online outrage, the situation poses a serious operational challenge. With net migration expected to fall to record lows in 2026, the federal government is heavily reliant on the 12,000 new agents to meet enforcement targets. If payroll and benefits issues persist, analysts warn ICE could face retention problems that undermine its expanded operations.
As the posts continue to gain traction, pressure is mounting on ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to explain whether the problems stem from temporary administrative backlogs or deeper management failures.
