Pentagon asks civilian employees to join 'volunteer force' to aid Ice deportations

Source: The Guardian

Thu 21 Aug 2025 12.08 EDT
Last modified on Thu 21 Aug 2025 12.15 EDT


The Pentagon is recruiting civilian employees to join Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign and asking staff to sign up for deployments to immigration enforcement facilities across the United States.

The defense department has posted a job listing requesting volunteers for civilian federal employees apply to join a “volunteer force” supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) operations. On Wednesday, the department reportedly emailed civilian employees asking them to take up this opportunity.

“The Secretary of Defense has authorized DoD civilian employees to participate in details to the Department of Homeland Security to contribute to its operations along the Southern Border and its internal immigration enforcement activities,” reads the email, obtained by 404Media. Roughly 950,000 civilian employees work for the Pentagon. Selected employees will reportedly “offer critical support” to Ice and border patrol “as they fulfill the President’s intent to ensure a safe and orderly immigration system”.

A US defense official confirmed the initiative, telling the Guardian: “The Secretary of Defense memorandum signed on Jun 1, 2025, ‘Detailing of Department of Defense Civilians Employees to Support the Department of Homeland Security’ allows DoD civilians employees to participate in a detail for up to 180-days, supporting the Department of Homeland Security’s operations on the southern border.” The official said volunteer duties may include “data entry, operational planning support, processing and throughput logistics, and logistical support”.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/21/trump-hegseth-pentagon-ice