Thousands of ICE agents join forum to complain about their jobs

[mysteryowl]

Thousands of federal immigration agents have been complaining about their jobs in an online forum, where they blasted “incompetent leadership,” according to a report.

Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agencies, part of the Department of Homeland Security, have taken to venting about their frustrations online as they have been placed at the center of the Trump administration’s crackdown.

There are over 5,000 users on the unnamed forum seen by WIRED claiming to be current and former federal immigration agents. There, they complained of the negative public perception of the agencies, long working hours and “incompetent” leadership, according to the outlet.
[snip]
One user started a thread titled, “Ready to resign, had enough stress” five days before Pretti was killed. “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,” the user reportedly wrote.
The user also complained of agents being deployed for temporary duty at short notice in cities where the administration is carrying out large-scale immigration operations.

“No more weekends off, more work than ever before in 18 years. No more union. No more down time,” the post reportedly continued. “This is not what any of us envisioned for our last years of career when we are in our 50's.”

Other users lashed out at Homeland Security leadership.

“Led by some of the worst leadership I’ve ever witnessed, from the local level all the way up to the national stage, this agency has managed to turn a righteous mission into a complete clown show,” another user reportedly wrote.

“This is going to be a train wreck that we may not survive,” another reportedly said.
Agents complained of the negative public perception of the agencies, headed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. They cited long working hours and ‘incompetent’ leadership, according to the report
Agents complained of the negative public perception of the agencies, headed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. They cited long working hours and ‘incompetent’ leadership, according to the report (AFP via Getty Images)

The Independent had contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

Reports of “plummeting” morale among federal law enforcement officers tasked with carrying out the administration’s immigration operations have been widespread since the unrest in Minneapolis. In a report at the end of January, more than 20 current and former immigration officials told The New York Times of their discontent in the hours following the fatal shooting of Pretti.

Current and former ICE officials who spoke with the outlet anonymously said they were “unhappy with the sharp rhetoric” coming from top White House and Homeland Security officials, who were quick to blame Pretti.

One ICE agent told the Times that he had “always given the benefit of the doubt to the government in these situations,” but that he now no longer believed “any of the statements they put out anymore.”

“We lost all trust,” a current ICE official added. “I’m not sure I can see how we exist three years from now.”

Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin also reported “extreme frustration” in the department over “some of the claims & narratives DHS pushed in the aftermath of the shooting.”

“These sources say this messaging from DHS officials has been catastrophic from a PR and morale perspective, as it is eroding trust and credibility,” Melugin reported Sunday.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ice-agents-job-complaints-b2914662.html

Nice to hear some of them are human.

[mucifer]

1. I hope this is true. But, if the forum is reddit, anyone could claim to be ICE. There

needs to be verification.

[mysteryowl]

2. The government website lists several social media for them to use.

[Lonestarblue]

3. Then they should quit in protest.

[mysteryowl]

4. I believe some have.

Not enough though, obviously.

[Scrivener7]

5. If they have a shred of decency, they would.

It took a videoed murder for that one guy not to "take the government's word" for these situations.

Now he's seen it. And since he saw it, by continuing to work there, he's choosing to be part of it.

[azureblue]

29. the problem with that is

The way the employment contract is - they get the money in 10K installments. BUT, if they quit before the end of the 5 year contract, they have to pay it all back.. Even if they quit because the don't get their monthly paycheck.

[drray23]

6. Notice that all their complaints are about how hard it is on them

not one single complaint about how they are asked to treat the public. Not one of them saying I cant do it anymore because I dont think it is right to abuse the population, immigrants and citizens alike.

[mysteryowl]

8. Good point, which reflects the kind of people they are to have a job like that.

They hunt PEOPLE!

[niyad]

14. EXACTLY!!!

[ProudMNDemocrat]

7. Cracks in the facade before it all comes crashing down.

Kristi Noem and her group of cos-players are coming to the point of rebellion?

False promises rising to the surface. Distrust. Anger. These are but small cracks that will crescendo into a flood when the dam breaks. Where will Tom Homan and ICE, ICE Kristi be then?

This Star Wars story ends badly for The Empire's New World Order.

[SallyHemmings]

9. Working for ICE is not mandatory

I have zero sympathy for these people.

[malaise]

10. Rec. Rec. Rec

For visibility - must read

[Scalded Nun]

11. Boo-fucking-hoo. You knew when you signed up for this what would be expected.

You have continued to serve even while you saw it was much, much worse. Now you own it and it owns you.

Your life should be doomed to a downward spiral from now until the day you die, and that day cannot come soon enough.

You, and every one of your fucking cohorts.

[tinrobot]

19. Someone who signed up 17-18 years ago didn't know.

The one agent mentioned in the article is a little over 2 years from the 20 year retirement. That would put the agent signing up right around the time Obama took office.

How would that agent have known? And being 2 years away from retirement puts them between a rock and a hard place. Quit now and lose a pension or do a job you don't agree with?

[ShazzieB]

32. I was just sbout to say the same thing.

It's easy to say these people can all just walk away if they don't like how things are being done, but I don't think the situation is that black and white.

There are a lot of new ICE agents who are inexperienced and poorly trained, but many of these complaints sound like they're coming from long timers who signed on unver VERY different circumstances. People who have presumably been looking forward to a reasonably comfortable retirement (which is nothing to sneeze at in this day and age) are finding that the rules have changed completely and they're being ordered to do things they never expected, and I'm sure many of them have a lot to lose if they quit too soon.

I don't know what working for ICE it was like in the past, but it's obviously changed dramatically since January 20, 2025. I can relate, because I know what it's like when a job suddenly turns into something completely different due to changes in leadership. I'll never forget the job I had hoped to stay with until retirement that got yanked out from me when I was pushing 50, because of new management with vastly different expectations taking over. It sucks to be in that position, and starting over can be extremely difficult, especially when you're past a certain age. If you haven't experienced that, you can't imagine how awful it is.

It's easy to say they knew what they signed up for, but what's going on now is NOT what all of them signed up for. I have no sympathy for the "Proud Boy" types who joined the agency because they hate immigrants and like to play with guns, but I think it's unfair to assume that all ICE agents are cut from that cloth, and it's also unfair to judge people when you only know part of the story.

[mike_c]

34. but they know now

It sucks that their job expanded after they were hired, but nobody is preventing anyone from putting their personal scruples first and quitting, providing they have any. These people are complaining about the costs of their job performance on themselves, not their victims. I might find some sympathy for those who quit over mistreatment of the public, including migrants, and lose benefits they had counted on. But it was always pig work, and the border patrol has a long history of racism and violence. It didn't just start with this administration. It's just been mainstreamed.

[Scalded Nun]

35. Perhaps they signed off a while back, but they have known now for about a year.

I have not heard peeps from ICE about the humiliation perpetrated upon the innocents, only their hurt feelings.

And depending on the agent's age, they can retire with less than 20 years of service.

[Prairie Gates]

12. "I'm not sure I can see how we exist three years from now"

The supposed realists on some Internet boards think that's impossible...



Abolish ICE.

They absolutely should not exist three years from now.

[617Blue]

13. Maybe they should unionize? LOL.

[Kid Berwyn]

15. Trust is essential for sound leadership!

From OP:

One ICE agent told the Times that he had “always given the benefit of the doubt to the government in these situations,” but that he now no longer believed “any of the statements they put out anymore.”

[hatrack]

16. Awww!! Poor babies!! I hear McDonald's is hiring . . .

Fuck 'em.

[SamKnause]

17. I don't care.

I don't care if they ever see a penny.

You were hired by liars to terrorize people in the U.S.

Fuck you.

[ToxMarz]

18. That they feel they were signing up to carry out a 'righteous mission' is most frightening

For the most part they are dealing with civil violations, not even crimes.

[mysteryowl]

23. The agency is based in racsim.

NYT op-ed
Border Patrol is the Problem. It Always Has Been. (since 1924)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221002086

The agency was meant to be right at the border and their jurisdiction grew.

It is reported they have always been this violent and willfully murder people at the border.
All this has been hidden until trump brought it into mainstream America.

It needs to be abolished and reinvented.

[Aviation Pro]

20. They're all just puppies in Noem's kennel

And she has a history with puppies.

[Liberal In Texas]

21. Then there's this ICE agent...

...who just quit her job:

The first crack in the wall: An ICE agent just quit.

— Raider (@iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social) 2026-02-08T00:42:27.563Z

[paleotn]

22. So it's hard out there for a nazi thug? My heart does not break.

They cannot escape the fact that, as a group of supposed humans, THEY did these horrible things. The list of atrocities is long. Yet now they want sympathy. "Righteous mission" my ass. No empathy for them. None. Zero.

[Johonny]

24. The best part will be when Trump cancels

Their retirement packages 😀

[mysteryowl]

25. So true.

Apparently, some have missed paychecks and canceled health insurance.

[twodogsbarking]

26. shnowflakes.

[3825-87867]

27. I don't care...do you?

!

[Clouds Passing]

28. Abuse? Long hours? Incompetent leadership? Unkept WH promises? Sharp rehtoric?

Who knew

[patphil]

30. I can't feel sorry for any of the ICE agents.

They've embraced a mentality of brute force; treating everyone with disdain.
Yes, their management is terrible, and the citizens are angry with them, and let them know it.
If they were decent, honorable people, they'd resign.
But, what do we see in the streets?
Guns pointed in people's faces, car windows being smashed, doors being broken, people being dragged out of their homes and cars and slammed to the ground. People being disappeared into a network of prison camps far from their homes. Prisons where they endure horrible conditions, with no way of communicating back to their loved ones.
Children being treated as if they were criminals by ICE agents who have made casual cruelty their lifestyle.
All done with hidden faces; no identification whatsoever.

So these ICE-holes feel bad about their jobs? I'll say it again, if they were decent, honorable people they'd resign.
But there seems to be a whole lot of them out there.
At least when we take our country back, and we will, we'll find out who they are and have an accounting for their crimes.

[doc03]

31. BooHoo

[mike_c]

33. the remedy I suggest is uncharitable, to say the least

So I'll just leave it there. Cry me a fookin river.