Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is working to assemble a strong group of volunteers from among border agents and processing coordinators to assist with the apprehension of criminal migrants across various cities throughout the United States, NewsNation has confirmed.
According to an internal email obtained by NewsNation, the agency intends to dispatch volunteers to cities both large and small. The initiative, as outlined in the message sent to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel and supervisors, will be “enforcement-centric.”
The communication noted that decisions regarding where these agents will be deployed and how long their assignments will last are still underway. Reports indicate a sharp decline in border encounters and unauthorized crossings since President Donald Trump began his term in January.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has claimed that border encounters have dropped by 95% since last spring, attributing the decrease to Trump’s efforts to restrict illegal immigration. ICE has stepped up operations targeting migrants with criminal histories, particularly those who were previously ordered to leave the country or have yet to be taken into custody. Noem and former ICE Director Tom Homan have both emphasized that the administration’s priority is to apprehend and detain “the worst of the worst.”
Over 100 immigration-related arrests were recently carried out in Nashville, Tennessee. This effort was the result of a collaboration between ICE and the Tennessee State Patrol. Over the course of one week, more than 500 traffic stops were conducted, leading to 103 arrests, according to NewsNation.
These enforcement actions followed visits by Homan and Noem to major urban areas including New York, Chicago, and Denver, where they joined agents targeting criminal migrants. Lawmakers are actively deliberating over Trump’s proposed immigration package—dubbed the “big, beautiful bill.” The bill would allocate around $140 billion for immigration enforcement—the push for volunteers is intended to bolster personnel resources within the U.S. interior.
John Fabbricatore, a former ICE field office director in Denver, stated that forming volunteer teams for ICE missions has historical precedent. He told NewsNation that “similar large-scale operations took place under the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations.”
Assignments can sometimes last only a couple of weeks, Fabbricatore explained, though agents working in intelligence roles may be deployed for longer periods. He also suggested that this initiative could differ in scale compared to past efforts. Trump administration officials have estimated that approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants are currently residing in the U.S., and the administration has openly aimed to deport as many individuals with criminal records or prior removal orders as possible.
Fabbricatore said volunteer deployments are driven by operational needs and that additional ICE-specific training likely won’t be necessary, as both ICE and CBP academies cover similar material regarding immigration enforcement and arrest protocols.
“With the border being locked down, the Border Patrol wants to get into the mix with interior arrests,” Fabbricatore told NewsNation. “They are well-trained, have high morale right now and are ready to implement President Trump’s enthusiastic enforcement of immigration law.”
