ICE is going high-profile as the rapidly expanding immigration enforcement agency invests millions of dollars to buy eye-catching new vehicles to help “Defend the Homeland” and attract new recruits.
Contractors have already begun applying paint and vinyl wraps to SUVS, pickups and a pair of $60,000 Ford Mustangs, some of which will be deployed in Washington, DC, as part of President Donald Trump‘s crackdown on street crime and homelessness, along with targeting illegal immigrants.
“We will have our country back,” Homeland Security officials said in a Aug. 14 social media post unveiling the new designs. Some of the vehicles bear the words “Defend the Homeland.”
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is getting 10,000 new agents over the next four years to help carry out Trump’s ongoing mass deportations, and is spending millions to equip them. Homeland Security officials are also bringing on new police dogs and buying vast tranches of new equipment and gear to support the new officers, according to a USA TODAY review of federal purchasing data.
For recruiting purposes, the White House specifically ordered ICE to buy two Mustangs, which are joining 25 new Chevrolet Tahoes, along with Ford Raptor pickups and top-end GMC SUVs as part of the fleet, according to purchasing data.
ICE has typically operated with a significantly lower profile, and its agents have been heavily criticized nationwide for operating in plainclothes as they detain people in unmarked vehicles.
The moves to both expand ICE and deploy federal agents and National Guard troops on DC streets has drawn criticism over what many liberals see as misplaced priorities when it comes to federal spending. While Trump and Congress have slashed spending and staffing, ICE is getting significantly larger.
“Why can Trump always find money for things he wants to, like half a million dollars for an ICE music video or to deploy federal agents to occupy DC, but not to invest in the housing and support that people really need and actually keep people safe?” asked Jesse Rabinowitz, a social worker and spokesperson for the National Homelessness Law Center. “We need housing and healthcare, not handcuffs and federal agents terrorizing DC.”
ICE hiring efforts include an aggressive social media campaign, and recruiting from other law enforcement agencies, which has angered some sheriffs.

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