Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning a $100 million, one-year "wartime recruitment" push to hire new deportation agents, including military enthusiasts and gun-rights supporters, using a broad ad campaign and online influencers, according to an internal document revealed on Wednesday.

The goal is to advance President Donald Trump's call for mass deportations by dominating recruitment channels and media networks, The Washington Post reported, citing a 30-page strategy memo that it said circulated among officials this summer but has only now been revealed.

The campaign's visuals include Uncle Sam, along with posters featuring Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Deputy ICE Director Madison Sheahan, urging potential recruits to "Defend the Homeland."

DHS has already promoted plans to expand the ICE workforce by more than 10,000 employees, boosting the effort on social media with language about repelling "foreign invaders" and performing a "sacred duty."

The new document, however, lays out the full scope of the plan, including a strategy to "flood the market" with targeted digital ads, influencer partnerships, and livestream promotions on platforms such as Rumble and Snapchat.

A key tactic described in the document is "geofencing," which would deliver ads directly to phones, web browsers and social media feeds of people considered receptive to ICE messaging.

The plan calls for targeting people near military bases, at NASCAR races, on college campuses, and at gun shows and trade events.

The strategy memo followed an ICE request for contractor bids seeking "precise audience targeting, performance media management, and results-driven creative strategies," The Post reported.

In the same period, DHS awarded nearly $40 million to two marketing firms to support recruitment, according to federal awards records.

Recruitment ads placed on television, radio, podcasts, and in print direct viewers to an ICE hiring website that states, "America has been invaded by criminals and predators," alongside an image of Uncle Sam.

"We need YOU to get them out," the site reads.

Sarah Saldaña, who led ICE during the Obama administration, said the approach is unlike anything the agency has done before.

Historically, she said, ICE filled openings largely by recruiting from local police and sheriffs' departments, appealing to candidates interested in federal service.

Saldaña said she worries the new tactics could attract applicants seeking war-like action, bringing "a certain aggressiveness that may not be necessary in 85% of what you do."

Americus Reed, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, said the plan resembles the military's former "Army of One" campaign.

"They're aiming for that sweet spot of people who've got something to prove, who want to have that power, under the guise of patriotism," he said.

DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin did not dispute the claims The Post asked her to review and said she was "thrilled" the "wildly successful" campaign was being highlighted.

McLaughlin said DHS has received more than 220,000 applications in five months and has offered jobs to more than 18,000 people. She said more than 85% of new hires have law enforcement experience.

To boost recruitment, ICE has removed age limits and is offering signing bonuses of up to $50,000. Federal job postings show that many deportation agent salaries range from about $50,000 to $90,000 a year.

The memo calls for more lifestyle- and interest-based digital ads aimed at people into physical training and conservative news and politics, including audiences described as conservative-leaning or interested in "conservative thought leaders, gun rights organizations [and] tactical gear brands."

It projects that more than 5,000 applicants could come through an "ICE influencer" program at an estimated cost of about $1,500 per application.

Additional spending is slated for ads on gaming consoles, connected TVs, streaming services, billboards, trucks, and newspapers. The memo also lists New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Boston — cities that saw major ICE sweeps and protests in 2025 — as "key locations" for recruiting.

The largest target, up to 1,000 removal officers, is the ICE field office in New Orleans, reflecting Louisiana's large immigration detention population, second only to Texas, the document said.

ICE has also held hiring events nationwide, and the strategy calls for recruitment around major sports and entertainment events, including the NASCAR Cook Out Southern 500 in South Carolina, UFC Fight Night in December in Las Vegas, and a sponsorship at the National Finals Rodeo in December.