Here's How Much ICE Agents At Airports May Be Making As TSA Goes Unpaid

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4.8 • 6 Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2026

⏱️ 4 minutes

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Summary

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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:00.4	Immigration and customs enforcement officers deploy to airports across the United States are collecting a paycheck,
1:06.8	even as they face criticism for being untrained to patrol airports,
1:11.9	while transportation security administration workers have gone more than a month without pay.
1:16.5	ICE agent-based salary ranges from about $52,000 to $84,000, according to a job posting for
1:23.4	deportation officers on a U.S. government job portal, which can vary due to geographic location
1:29.2	and experience. Despite a government partial shutdown that impacts the Department of Homeland Security,
1:35.3	ICE agents are still being paid through a $75 billion sum allocated to ICE through the one big
1:41.2	beautiful bill last year, which made it the highest-funded federal law enforcement
	...

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