ICE Cancels Deportation Bonus Pilot After Hours

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) briefly announced but then swiftly canceled a 30-day pilot program that would have paid agents cash bonuses for rapidly deporting immigrants, with $200 for deportations within seven days and $100 within 14 days of arrest. The program was intended to reduce deportation backlogs and cut detention costs by encouraging expedited removals or voluntary departures, but ICE leadership denied ever authorizing the initiative, and the Department of Homeland Security confirmed no such policy was or is in effect. The cancellation came shortly after media inquiries, highlighting internal confusion amid President Trump's administration's broader push to expand immigration enforcement, including a substantial budget increase for ICE from $8 billion to $28 billion and a hiring surge with signing bonuses up to $50,000. Critics expressed concern that financial incentives tied to deportation numbers could undermine due process and procedural rights for immigrants. Despite the canceled bonus program, ICE continues to use other recruitment incentives and has accelerated deportation rates, with a significant increase in daily removals compared to previous administrations. The episode underscores the mounting pressure on ICE to meet aggressive deportation targets under the current administration.