Lawmakers say they weren't allowed inside Baltimore ICE holding facility
Solve the daily Crossword
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
8 hours ago
- USA Today
ICE is recruiting agents with incentives, massive ad campaigns. Sheriffs aren't happy.
ICE just made it more attractive to become an immigration agent, with a $50k signing bonus. But are they hurting local law enforcement in the process? Get ready for ICE to flood your social media feeds. Dangling bonuses of up to $50,000, federal officials are launching a massive recruitment campaign to hire more than 14,000 immigration agents, attorneys and other workers to help execute President Donald Trump's border crackdown. The president is newly flush with billions in funding and wants to deport 1 million people annually with the help of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. "America needs you," reads one of the ICE recruiting ads, featuring a finger-pointing Uncle Sam, evoking WWI recruiting posters. "America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out." The federal spending plan funds the hiring of 10,000 new ICE agents, making ICE the single-largest law enforcement agency in the country, larger than the FBI, DEA, ATF and other agencies combined. For comparison, the FBI only has about 13,700 special agents, according to the Department of Justice. Even before the new hires take their posts, the dramatic expansion of public ICE operations has upset communities from coast to coast, and raised questions about the tactics agents have used as they've chased suspects across Home Depot parking lots, farm fields and into medical buildings. The aggressive recruitment efforts have also angered local sheriffs worried that deputies in already understaffed offices will be lured away by the big bonuses and higher pay. "It is tone deaf and reflects a total lack of judgment and character on their part," Jonathan Thompson, the executive director and CEO of the National Sheriff's Association, said of a recruiting offer emailed to local deputies nationwide. "This is either galactically stupid or purposefully malicious. You're just robbing Peter to pay Paul. And in this case, you're robbing the poorest of Peter to pay the richest of Paul." Massive media blitz, incentives and job offers Bolstered by new staffing, federal officials have promised to further flood Democrat-run cities with deportation officers in response to a lack of cooperation in executing Trump's get-tough approach that has targeted undocumented immigrations with or without criminal records. The Department of Homeland Security has already begun hiring for the new jobs. Federal officials are planning a massive social media blitz to reach recruits, potentially advertising on YouTube and SnapChat, but also on connected TVs via Hulu and Amazon Prime. In addition to the signing bonuses, ICE is offering up to $60,000 in student loan forgiveness, although applicants don't need to have college degrees to be considered for some of the jobs. ICE officials on July 31 announced they've made 1,000 job offers since Trump signed the funding law. Among those receiving job offers are retired ICE agents who quit during the Biden administration, said acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons in a statement. "They couldn't do the jobs they signed up to do," Lyons said. "Now, people are lining up to work with us because they know our officers and agents are allowed to enforce immigration law fairly and across the board, and that's a cause people really believe in." Applicants 'should expect a certain level of risk' White House officials say there's been an 830% increase in assaults against agents through July 14th, compared with the same period last year, and the recruiting materials say applicants "should expect a certain level of risk," but that they will be trained to take "every precaution" in remaining safe. How quickly ICE can bring aboard the new employees remains uncertain. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has long struggled to hire Border Patrol agents, who typically take more than 300 days to bring aboard, according to a 2024 GAO study. Joe Gamaldi, the national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police union, said he suspects ICE will face the same recruiting challenges as local departments. He said years of demonizing law enforcement by some politicians, activists and media has created a "toxic cocktail" that will make hiring challenging. "Truth be told, all police agencies are competing for a small pool of people who are still willing to serve and literally die for their communities," he said. "Bonuses and better pay will help, but ultimately police officers, and those interested in police work, want to serve for an agency and communities that appreciate them and don't treat them like scum." Local sheriffs furious about ICE recruitment efforts The aggressive hiring efforts have frustrated local law enforcement leaders who worry their officers will flock to better-paying federal jobs. Without telling local sheriffs in advance, ICE officials directly emailed recruitment offers to hundreds of deputies across the country. Thompson, of the National Sheriff's Association, said sheriffs feel betrayed by the move. Thompson said sheriffs agreed to send deputies to special immigration enforcement training designed for local police, only to then have ICE try to simply poach them away. "It's become a wildfire of discontent, and not how partners treat partners," he said. "This is an embarrassment to this president, and it's sad." Thompson said some sheriff's offices currently have vacancies of 40% and predicted the ICE hiring spree could further winnow the ranks of local law enforcement. Other policing experts have raised concerns about the risks of hiring so quickly. National-security expert and commentator Garrett Graf, who investigated Border Patrol hiring surges after 9/11, said in a Substack post that ICE risks a surge of applications from Americans "specifically attracted by the rough-em-up, masked secret police tactics, no-holds-barred lawlessness that ICE has pursued since January." Graff added: "If you're excited to dress up like you're taking Fallujah for a raid of hard-working roofers in the Home Depot parking lot, working for ICE or CBP shouldn't be for you."
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Judge blocks Trump rapid-fire deportations for immigrants with parole status
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from rapidly deporting hundreds of thousands of immigrants who had previously been paroled into the United States to flee violence and oppression in their home countries. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb said in a ruling Friday that the Department of Homeland Security's tactics — rapid-fire deportation proceedings with little to no chance to lodge challenges — amounted to changing the rules in the middle of the game for people previously welcomed into the country on a temporary basis. Cobb barred foreigners with immigration parole, typically a short-term status that allows foreigners to live and work in the U.S. legally, from being subjected to a controversial maneuver the administration has adopted in recent months: dismissing immigrants' pending proceedings in immigration court — only to immediately arrest them outside the courtroom and put them into a sped-up deportation process known as expedited removal. 'In a world of bad options, they played by the rules,' Cobb, a Biden appointee, wrote. 'Now, the Government has not only closed off those pathways for new arrivals but changed the game for parolees already here.' That new tactic arrived amid pressure within the Trump administration to ramp up arrests in support of President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda, a detail Cobb cited in her ruling. But she said the basis for the expansion of 'expedited removal' and for targeting those previously granted parole exceeded the administration's legal authority and was arbitrary. The White House has put intense pressure on Immigration and Customs Enforcement to increase arrest numbers, with the aim of 3,000 a day. Trump officials view the immigration courts as one of the biggest roadblocks in reaching its goal of 1 million annual deportations and have used the immigration court arrests to increase its numbers. Immigration attorneys have scrambled to adapt to the tactic in recent months, preparing their clients for the possibility of being detained at ICE check-ins and immigration courts. The arrests have spurred fear in immigrant communities across the country, with attorneys warning of a chilling effect among immigrants who have long followed the rules. 'This case's underlying question, then, asks whether parolees who escaped oppression will have the chance to plead their case within a system of rules. Or, alternatively, will they be summarily removed from a country that — as they are swept up at checkpoints and outside courtrooms, often by plainclothes officers without explanation or charges, may look to them more and more like the countries from which they tried to escape?' It's unclear how many immigrants are impacted by Cobb's ruling. She estimated the number as 'hundreds of thousands,' but statistics compiled by Republican lawmakers and immigration opponents suggest the figure could be 1 million or more. "Judge Cobb is flagrantly ignoring the United States Supreme Court which upheld expedited removals of illegal aliens by a 7-2 majority," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said. "This ruling is lawless and won't stand." As illegal crossings at the border with Mexico mushroomed into a political crisis during the Biden administration, officials increasingly turned to immigration parole as a means to limit chaotic scenes at the border by allowing immigrants from Central America to enter the U.S. legally. A report presented at a House hearing in April by a group favoring greater restrictions on immigration, the Center for Immigration Studies, estimated that the Biden administration granted immigration parole to 2.8 million people. However, only some of those people would be impacted by the judge's ruling Friday since federal law bars the use of expedited removal against immigrants who have been living in the U.S. for more than two years. The new ruling specifically blocks three Trump administration directives: a Jan. 23 memo authorizing the use of 'expedited removal' as broadly as possible; a Feb. 18 Immigration and Customs Enforcement directive authorizing expedited removal for 'paroled arriving aliens'; and a March 25 notice canceling parole status for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
AI is already replacing thousands of jobs per month, report finds
Artificial intelligence is already replacing thousands of jobs each month as the U.S. job market struggles amid global trade uncertainty, a report has found. The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas said in a report filed this week that in July alone the increased adoption of generative AI technologies by private employers led to more than 10,000 lost jobs. The firm stated that AI is one of the top five reasons behind job losses this year, CBS News noted. On Friday, new labor figures revealed that employers only added 73,000 jobs in July, a much worse result than forecasters expected. Companies announced more than 806,000 job cuts in the private sector through July, the highest number for that period since 2020. The technology industry is seeing the fiercest cuts, with private companies announcing more than 89,000 job cuts, an increase of 36 percent compared to a year ago. Challenger, Gray, and Christmas found that more than 27,000 job cuts have been directly linked to artificial intelligence since 2023. "The industry is being reshaped by the advancement of artificial intelligence and ongoing uncertainty surrounding work visas, which have contributed to workforce reductions," the firm said. The impact of artificial intelligence is most severe among younger job seekers, with entry-level corporate roles usually available to recent college graduates declining by 15 percent over the past year, according to the career platform Handshake. The use of 'AI' in job descriptions has also increased by 400 percent during the last two years. There are other reasons for recent job losses, with more than 292,000 roles having been terminated following cuts connected to the Department of Government Efficiency, previously led by Elon Musk, a former close ally of President Donald Trump, Challenger, Gray, and Christmas found. Senior vice president Andrew Challenger said in a statement, 'We are seeing the federal budget cuts implemented by DOGE impact non-profits and health care in addition to the government.' Amid the rising costs associated with tariffs, layoffs are also increasing in the retail sector, according to the firm. Through July, retailers announced more than 80,000 cuts, an increase of close to 250 percent compared to the same period last year. "Retailers are being impacted by tariffs, inflation, and ongoing economic uncertainty, causing layoffs and store closures. Further declines in consumer spending could trigger additional losses," said the firm. White collar workers are among those at highest risk of having their jobs wiped out by AI, executives have warned. But Challenger said early last month, 'There are roles that can be significantly changed by AI right now, but I'm not talking to too many HR leaders who say AI is replacing jobs,' he added, according to NBC News. In June, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said AI would 'reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains.' But he didn't specify a timeframe. Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ford CEO Jim Farley would replace 'literally half of all white-collar workers in the U.S.' But experts argue that AI is currently affecting the job market in roundabout ways, such as many companies coming under intense pressure to cut costs because of the uncertain economic climate pushed by Trump's tariff policy and concerns about increasing inflation. As such, some companies are spending money on AI software instead of hiring new staff. The CEO of The Josh Bersin Company workforce consultancy, Josh Bershin, told NBC News,'There's basically a blank check to go out and buy these AI tools.' 'Then they go out and say, as far as head count: No more hiring. Just, 'stop.' So that immediately freezes the job market,' he added.
