Immigration and Customs Enforcement abruptly canceled a plan to offer cash bonuses for rapid deportations just hours after announcing the incentive on Tuesday. ICE agents were told in an internal email that they could earn $200 for each immigrant deported within a week of arrest, and $100 for those deported within two weeks, the New York Times reports. The pilot program, meant to last 30 days, was canceled just four hours later after the Times reached out for comment. "PLEASE DISREGARD," read a follow-up message to staff.
Documents seen by the Times showed the now-scrapped program would have encouraged agents to use expedited removal, a fast-track process with no court hearings, or urge voluntary departures. The memo said it was intended to reduce a backlog, "reducing overall removal costs and decreasing strain" on detention resources. Critics say cash bonuses for deportations risk undermining due process. "You can't incentivize government agents to short circuit people's procedural rights," said former DHS official Scott Shuchart.
Homeland Security downplayed the plan, insisting it was never enacted. But the episode highlights the mounting pressure on ICE to hit President Trump's aggressive deportation targets. The agency's annual budget is set to soar from $8 billion to $28 billion, more than double that of the FBI. Last week, the agency launched a recruiting push, offering up to $50,000 in signing bonuses for "brave and heroic Americans."
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ICE is already moving faster, with 30% of detainees deported within two weeks as of May, compared to 21% in January. Daily removals in July hit nearly 1,300, up from fewer than 800 per day during the Biden era.
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