Trump promises pay raises and bonuses to spark a DHS hiring spree

Former President Trump over the weekend unveiled his plan to ramp up border security through a surge of staffing, saying he would overcome longstanding attrition issues to hire 10,000 new Border Patrol agents. 

Such an influx of personnel would significantly transform the agency by injecting a more than 50% increase to its workforce, though it would likely encounter headwinds as the Homeland Security Department has for several administrations—including in Trump’s first term—struggled to recruit and retain new agents. To help reach his goal, Trump said upon taking office he would immediately ask Congress to approve a 10% across-the-board raise for all agents. He would also seek to implement recruitment and retention bonuses of $10,000 for new hires and existing staff. 

Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden all sought at various times to increase Border Patrol staffing, but those efforts have largely been unsuccessful. That is despite the agency currently offering recruiting incentives double, or in some cases triple, that of Trump’s proposal. 

Border Patrol failed to reach its hiring goals from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2024, according to a Government Accountability Office report last month, and its total onboard staff has decreased in each of those years. The number of authorized agents jumped from 19,000 to 22,000 in that period, but the actual number of agents employed has declined. The reduction came despite Border Patrol managing to double its average annual hires in recent years. President Biden has boasted that he secured funding for small increases in Border Patrol staffing during his presidency, though his requests for supplemental funds for more dramatic hiring surges have gone unfulfilled.

Trump shortly after taking office vowed to ramp up the border security workforce and his administration signed a contract worth up to $300 million to help it bring on 7,500 border personnel, but canceled it after it managed to hire just 15 employees. Lawmakers for years were forced to claw back money appropriated for Customs and Border Protection hiring after the agency failed to meet the agency’s targets. Trump eventually oversaw small staffing gains at Border Patrol, but they paled in comparison to his ambitious goals.

The former president said at a political rally on Sunday that Border Patrol was facing a “tremendous shortage” of staff, which he blamed on the Biden administration. 

“Because they haven’t been able to do their jobs,” Trump said, of the reason for the agency’s attrition. “We have a tremendous morale crisis because of [Vice President Kamala Harris] and her policies.” 

CBP has taken many steps to improve its hiring processes, incentivize potential hires to apply and motivate current employees to stay, though the efforts have led to mixed results. It has invested in advertising—spending $43 million on ads for job openings in fiscal 2023—thousands of recruiting events per year and hiring and retention incentives. Border Patrol, for example, is offering $20,000 recruiting incentives, which can go up to $30,000 in certain locations. It has offered retention and relocation bonuses in some areas, though CBP has only implemented special salary rates for non-Border Patrol staff. 

The agency saw applications for law enforcement positions decline from fiscal years 2018 to 2022, though it ticked up in fiscal 2023. While Trump sought to blame the Biden administration for the staffing woes, agency officials speaking to GAO cited several other reasons. 

Officials said negative opinions of law enforcement in general and CBP in particular, increased demands on the workforce, worse work-life balance, reduced physical fitness among the general population and the remote locations and extreme weather conditions in many areas their employees work all have contributed to the recruiting issues.

Joining CBP is an arduous, time-intensive process with 12 steps that include a medical, physical and polygraph examination. Even after CBP eased the process and no longer deems marijuana use with the prior two years as disqualifying, only 40% of applicants pass the polygraph exam.  

Trump accurately cited poor morale at the agency, though GAO noted the issue has plagued CBP since 2005. The agency was ranked 432 out of 459 federal subcomponents in the most recent Best Places to Work rankings, which the Partnership for Public Service maintains based on Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey data. Attrition has accelerated over the last decade, with CBP officials pointing to competition with other law enforcement agencies, a lack of services in its remote locations and a poor work-life balance.

Harris has also vowed to hire “thousands” of new border agents, though she has not laid out her plans to get them onboarded. She has sharply criticized Trump for his role in spiking a bipartisan agreement earlier this year, a significant portion of which focused on adding staff to key border agencies.

The legislation would have supported more than 4,300 asylum officers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 1,500 new Customs and Border Protection personnel—including both Border Patrol agents and customs officers—1,200 Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees, 100 immigration judges and support staff and additional USCIS staff. USCIS and ICE would have received direct hire authority—allowing the agencies to bypass normal restrictions that slow down federal onboarding—while the former agency would have been able to boost pay for some workers. CBP would have allowed more applicants to bypass the polygraph exam, provided they previously passed one.

The measure won the backing of Border Patrol agents, as its union—the National Border Patrol Council—threw its support behind the bill. On Sunday, union leaders appeared with Trump and the group endorsed the former president for the third straight election.