Episode Details

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers deployed at airports across the United States are collecting a paycheck, even as they face criticism for being untrained to patrol airports—while Transportation Security Administration workers have gone more than a month without pay.

KEY FACTS

• The ICE agent base salary ranges from about $52,000 to $84,000, according to a job posting for deportation officers on a U.S. government job portal, which can vary due to geographic location and experience.
• Despite a partial government shutdown that impacts the Department of Homeland Security, ICE agents are still being paid through a $75 billion sum allocated to ICE through the One Big Beautiful Bill last year, which made it the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency.
• ICE has previously used the huge spike in funding for a hiring blitz: Aside from base salaries, ICE has offered student loan forgiveness, overtime pay, enhanced retirement benefits and signing bonuses of up to $50,000.
• TSA agents appear to earn a comparatively lower salary, with pay starting at about $40,000 annually, with agents averaging “anywhere from $60,000 to $75,000” as they gain experience, a DHS spokesperson told Business Insider.

Read the full story on Forbes: By Conor Murray https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2026/03/24/heres-how-much-ice-agents-at-airports-may-be-making-as-tsa-goes-unpaid/

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