Anonymously, using fictitious names, agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been venting their work frustrations in an online forum, about delays in receiving their health benefits, paychecks, and even having to arrest gardeners.

“I have been close to “Two months waiting for health insurance…is anyone else dealing with this problem? I chose the basic BCBS. MSS told me they don't know how long it will take, and I have a sick daughter without health insurance,” said one of the immigration agents. Another agent responded: “Don't expect much, it's about $6,000 after taxes, and they include it in the regular payroll, so you end up paying between $4,000 and $5,000 in taxes on a single paycheck.” One more commented with a crying face emoji: “Oh my God! Monday marks four weeks since I started, and I still haven't been paid.” The leak of complaints from immigration agents and officers comes at a time when ICE is actively hiring deportation agents and officers; In early January, they announced that they had hired 12,000 officers and agents in less than a year, increasing the number from 10,000 to 22,000; they even eliminated the age limits, which were previously 21 and 40. ICE revealed that they have received more than 220,000 applications from people interested in joining their forces. “The good news is that, thanks to the important law signed by President Trump, we have an additional 12,000 ICE agents and officers deployed across the country,” stated Tricia McLaughlin, delegate for the Department of Homeland Security. "This represents a 120% increase in our workforce. And all of this in just four months." ICE has designed a very attractive package to attract new agents and officers, including bonuses of up to $50,000 to be paid gradually over the years; assistance of up to $60,000 for student loan repayment, enhanced retirement benefits, health insurance, Dental and vision insurance; and high wages and overtime pay.

Salaries for deportation agents range from $51,632 to $84,277 per year, depending on experience and location; and for special agents they range from $48,371 to $63,148, with rapid advancement potential. Salaries can reach $100,000 with overtime, bonuses,and additional pay when working in expensive cities like Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. The complaints are not only related to promised salaries and benefits but also to the work itself. "I'm all for deporting undocumented immigrants, but arresting guys who are mowing lawns in California and leaving the truck and equipment abandoned there? That's definitely not a smart way to operate," he commented to a federal agent in a report published by WIRED. Another alleged immigration agent posted, "I'm fed up with the stress. I have 2 or 3 years left until I can retire with full special status… but I don't know if I'll make it. I'm tired of this agency. Employees are being mistreated." La Opinion has contacted ICE to learn their position regarding the complaints expressed on the Reddit forum.

Immigration attorney Carlos Vellanoweth of Los Angeles said that we are dealing with ordinary, hardworking people who were promised a lot of money, and those promises haven't been kept.

“Unfortunately, many of them are Latino, they speak Spanish, and that's the tragedy. I go to the detention centers a lot, and everyone who works there is Latino. It's horrible, but it's part of colonialism.”

He described this workforce hired by ICE as young people who spend their time playing video games, like rifles, aren't smart enough to be police officers, and aren't soldiers because they're too lazy.

“Many of them were deceived by President Trump's own rhetoric and don't realize that their hiring is a fraud. This administration is using our own Latino population to harm its own people, and they wear masks so they won't be recognized.”

The attorney recommended that young Latinos look for jobs that don't harm their neighbors.

“Legally, there's nothing they can do to get their wages paid on time or receive the benefits they were promised. They're not in a union, they have no rights, and they can't fight back. They can be fired whenever the authorities want,” said attorney Vellanoweth, coordinator of CASA (Center for Autonomous Social Action), a Chicano organization that originated in the defense of Mexican immigrants' rights in the 1960s and 70s. “Things are going to get worse because right now they have 75,000 arrested, and that number is going to rise to 100,000.”000 with the millions of dollars they have been given. "I hope those centers they plan to build aren't made by Mexican hands."

Juan Jose Gutierrez, leader of the Coalition for the Full Rights of Immigrants, said he feels no empathy for federal agents because of the brutal and inhumane way they carried out their arrests.

"They were promised the moon and the stars to encourage them to join ICE and repress people, and now they're complaining that they aren't paid for the repulsive work they c."

He said that many of those who went to work for ICE are people who participated in the attempted coup of January 6, and the others were inspired by that fascist behavior to get the job.

"Now, with their complaints, they are creating an administrative problem for those responsible at ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, who have proven incapable of managing a workforce of 20,000. They aren't being paid their salaries, nor are they receiving what was promised. Perhaps if this gets worse, the people they've so actively recruited will start leaving.”

So far, the percentage of newly hired ICE agents who are Latino has not been revealed.

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