The Defense Department sent emails to civilian employees Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, asking them to volunteer to offer support to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
WASHINGTON — Pentagon civilian employees for the next year can sign up to join a volunteer force to assist with immigration enforcement efforts across the country.
The Defense Department sent emails to employees Wednesday asking them to “contribute” to the Department of Homeland Security operations along the southern border and its “internal immigration enforcement activities.”
“Selected department employees will have a chance to offer critical support to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as they fulfill the president’s intent to ensure a safe and orderly immigration system,” the email reads.
The Homeland Security and Defense departments officially signed a memorandum of understanding that allows Pentagon civilians to participate in the detail, a defense official said on the condition of anonymity.
Employees are now able to apply via USAJOBS. The job posting opened Aug. 8 and closes Aug. 1 of next year. The annual salary ranges from $25,684 to $191,900. Employees who volunteer will serve in support roles for up to 180 days with ICE or CBP. Travel, lodging and per diem might be reimbursed by the receiving agency. The detail is not a promotion opportunity, USAJOBS states.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo June 1 authorizing the support of Pentagon civilian employees to Homeland Security and immigration enforcement.
Since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January, his administration has made the crackdown on undocumented migrants one of its highest priorities.
About 8,500 troops are now deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border working primarily to detect possible illegal activity, the Pentagon has said.
More than 900,000 civilian employees work for the Defense Department. The Pentagon earlier this year announced it would reduce its workforce by 5% to 8% as part of a larger downsizing of federal agencies ordered by Trump. The Pentagon offered two rounds of deferred resignation to certain civilian staff, which allowed them to leave their jobs and continue to get paid through September. It was a way to realign the workforce and strategically restructure it, Hegseth said in March.
In March, only about 21,000 had taken the resignation offer during the first round. In total, about 55,000 employees were approved for deferred resignation, a defense official said.
Trump last week ordered federal agents and hundreds of National Guard troops to deploy throughout Washington to help curtail crime in the nation’s capital. This included a federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, in a post on X on Thursday said 630 arrests have occurred, and 86 illegal firearms have been taken off the streets.
A growing number of delivery drivers, most of them from Central or South America, are being detained by federal agents on D.C. streets and put into immigration detention as part of Trump federalizing the D.C. police force, The Washington Post reported. ICE agents are accompanying D.C. police officers on traffic stops to determine the immigration status of those delivery drivers and detain and deport them if they are in the United States illegally.
