“`html
Frustration is boiling over within the ranks of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), with officers voicing concerns about agency leadership, workload, and the impact of recent high-profile immigration enforcement operations.A forum with over 5,000 members claiming to be current and former ICE and CBP personnel has become a digital venting ground for these issues, revealing a workforce grappling with low morale and a sense of being overwhelmed.
Agency Discord: Officers Speak Out on Forum
Table of Contents
Internal discussions reveal complaints about long hours, limited pay, and leadership failures.
- A forum for ICE and CBP personnel provides a rare glimpse into the concerns of those on the front lines of immigration enforcement.
- Officers are expressing dissatisfaction with leadership, workload, and the loss of union representation.
- Recent controversial operations, including those in Minneapolis, have heightened tensions and prompted calls for change.
“I’m all for removing illegals, but snatching dudes off lawn mowers in Cali and leaving the truck and equipment just sitting there? Definitely not working smarter,” one user wrote on the forum, highlighting concerns about the practicality and optics of certain enforcement tactics. The forum, described as an “unofficial platform for discussion” for deportation officers-past and present-contains posts dating back over a decade.
What are the biggest complaints among ICE and CBP officers? According to posts viewed, the most frequent grievances center around long working hours, limited overtime pay, perceived incompetence in leadership, and inadequate training for new recruits. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE did not respond to requests for comment.
Operation Metro Surge and Rising Tensions
The surge in scrutiny and public outrage following violent immigration raids in minneapolis, part of DHS’s Operation Metro Surge, appears to be a major catalyst for the increased discussion on the forum. The shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex pretti by federal agents have further inflamed tensions. On January 19, just five days before pretti was killed, a user initiated a thread titled, “Ready to resign, had enough stress.”
“I have 2.3 years left for full special category retirement … but don’t know if I’ll make it. Tired of this Agency. Employees being abused badly. Mandated TDY’s with less than 24 hours notice,” the post read, from a user who has been a member since September 2015. “TDY” refers to “temporary duty,” involving the deployment of officers from across the country to cities like Minneapolis for large-scale operations.
The original poster continued, lamenting the loss of work-life balance: “No more weekends off, more work than ever before in 18 years. No more union.No more down time.” This sentiment echoes a broader concern within the agency, especially after thousands of ICE personnel lost union representation in 2022. The president of the council that previously represented ICE officers within the American Federation of Government Employees alleged the union had shifted “far left.”
Leadership Concerns and Shifting Priorities
Other forum users echoed these complaints, with one member, active as October 2015, stating, “Led by some of the worst leadership I’ve ever witnessed, from the local level
