Inside the Homeland Security Forum Where ICE Agents Talk Shit About Other Agents

Every day, people log successful to an online forum for existent and erstwhile Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officers to stock their thoughts connected the quality of the time and kick astir their colleagues successful Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“ERO is excessively engaged dressing up arsenic Black Ops Commandos with Tactical assemblage armor, driblet down thigh rigs, balaclavas, aggregate M4 magazines, and Punisher patches, to bash an Admin apprehension of a non criminal, non-violent EWI that weighs 90 pounds and is 5 ft 2, wrong a unafraid Federal gathering wherever everyone has been screened for weapons,” wrote 1 idiosyncratic successful July 2025. (ERO stands for Enforcement and Removal Operations; on with HSI, it’s 1 of the 2 large divisions of ICE and is liable for detaining and deporting immigrants.)

The forum describes itself arsenic a abstraction for existent and prospective HSI agents, “designed for the seasoned HSI Special Agent arsenic good arsenic applicants for introduction level Special Agent positions.” HSI is the part wrong ICE whose agents are usually liable for investigating crimes similar cause smuggling, terrorism, and quality trafficking.

In the forum, users sermon their discomfort with the US’s wide deportation efforts, statement the mode national agents person interacted with protesters and the public, and kick astir the authorities of their moving conditions. Members person besides had heated discussions astir the shooting of 2 protesters successful Minneapolis, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the ways migration enforcement has taken spot astir the US.

The forum is 1 of respective related forums wherever radical moving successful antithetic parts of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stock experiences and sermon circumstantial details of their work. WIRED antecedently reported connected a forum wherever existent and erstwhile deportation officers from ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) likewise complained astir their jobs and discussed the mode the bureau was conducting migration raids. The HSI forum appears to beryllium linked, adjacent including immoderate of the aforesaid members.

People bash not request to amusement impervious of their employment to articulation these forums, and the level does not look to beryllium heavy moderated. WIRED has not confirmed the idiosyncratic identities of these posters, though they stock details that apt would beryllium known lone to radical intimately acquainted with the job. There are much than 2,000 members with posts going backmost to astatine slightest 2004.

DHS and ICE did not respond to requests for comment.

Following the killings of some Good and Pretti, the forum’s members were heavy divided. In a January 12 thread, 5 days aft Good was changeable by ICE cause Jonathan Ross, a poster who has been a portion of the forum since 2016 wrote, “IMHO, the concern with ICE Operations person gotten to an unprecedented level of unit from some the Suspects and the General Public. I anticipation the AG is looking astatine the impermanent suspension of Civil Liberties, (during and successful the geographic locales wherever ICE Operations are being conducted).”

A idiosyncratic who joined the forum successful 2018 and identifies arsenic a precocious retired cause responded, “This is an fantabulous thought and good warranted. These are organized, good financed civilian disturbances, situation I accidental an INSURRECTION?!?”

In a January 16 station titled “The Shooting,” immoderate posters took a much nuanced view. “I get that it is simply a bully sprout legally and each that, but each helium had to bash was measurement aside, helium astir changeable 1 of his partners for Gods sake!” wrote a poster who archetypal joined the forum successful March 2022. “A USC pistillate non-crim changeable successful the caput connected TV for what? Just doesn't beryllium good with maine … A seasoned SRT feline who was capable to execute idiosyncratic portion holding a telephone seems to maine helium could person simply got retired of the way.” SRT refers to ICE’s elite peculiar effect team, who acquisition peculiar grooming to run successful high-risk situations. USC refers to US citizens.

“You intelligibly haven’t been TDY anywhere. Yes, they were going to apprehension her for 111,” responded different poster who joined the forum successful June 2018. “Tons of USCs are being arrested for it daily.” 111 refers to the portion of the US transgression codification that deals with assaulting, resisting, oregon impeding national officers; TDY refers to “temporary duty,” wherever officers are pulled to antithetic locations for a constricted play of time.

“Can't judge we person ‘supposed agents’ present questioning the shooting of a home terrorist,” wrote a 3rd idiosyncratic who joined the forum successful December 2025. (In the aftermath of the shooting, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called Good a “domestic terrorist.”)

“If you deliberation a abdominous unarmed lesbian successful a Honda is simply a ‘Terrorist’ past you are a fake ass cop!” the archetypal poster replied. “I person worked existent Terrorism cases, and I americium not saying it was a atrocious sprout and not defending her. I americium conscionable saying it did not person to happen.”

Later successful the thread, a poster who joined the forum successful July 2023 replied, “Remember, these are the aforesaid agents who deliberation J6’ers were conscionable misunderstood rowdy tourists, and that Ashley Babbitt is simply a nationalist leader … and if you situation accidental thing antagonistic astir Trump, oregon effort to clasp him accountable, you're abruptly a leftie, communist, lunatic (even though I’m a Republican).”

In a antithetic thread pursuing the shooting of Pretti connected January 24 by a CBP agent, a poster who has been a portion of the forum since 2023 and who besides identified arsenic a retired cause wrote, “Yet different ‘justified’ fatal shooting … They each transportation weapon belts and vest with 9,000 pieces of instrumentality connected them and past champion they tin bash is sprout a feline successful the back.”

The thread devolved into posters debating whether members of the January 6 insurrection were home terrorists and wherefore Kyle Rittenhouse, a civilian who changeable and killed 2 radical during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest, was apprehended alive.

“I conscionable privation to mention, we each get emotions are heightened close now. But I highly uncertainty being a bequest customs feline you ever did thing wherever the hazard was beyond the imaginable for insubstantial cuts,” wrote a idiosyncratic who archetypal joined the forum successful June 2025. “It’s a caller time with caller threats successful an situation you ne'er fathomed successful your career.”

Even earlier the shootings of Good and Pretti, members of the forum questioned the contented of bringing HSI into the Trump administration’s wide mobilization astir migration enforcement. HSI deals specifically with transgression cases and investigations, but surviving and moving successful the US without documentation is simply a civilian offense, and the bulk of immigrants who were detained oregon deported successful 2025 had not committed immoderate crimes.

One poster complained that doing truthful was pulling HSI resources distant from much urgent casework.

“The usage of 1811s — HSI oregon different — for administrative migration enforcement is simply a implicit misuse of resources,” wrote a idiosyncratic who joined the forum successful October 2022 successful a January 7 post. 1811’s refers to a class of instrumentality enforcement officers mostly referred to arsenic peculiar agents who behaviour transgression investigations. “They could beryllium doing these transgression surges for virtually immoderate benignant of national transgression investigations (drugs, kid exploitation, gangs, etc.), and it would beryllium a overmuch amended usage of resources. Not lone that, our reputations would inactive beryllium intact.”

Others successful the forum person complained astir HSI’s narration with ICE’s ERO teams. “It's beauteous atrocious erstwhile ERO astatine a ample metropolitan metropolis get's backed up with 30 bodies and they telephone the SA's successful to process,” wrote a poster connected July 7, 2025, who has been a portion of the forum since 2010. SAs refers to peculiar agents. “I conjecture that is what happens erstwhile they person not done immoderate migration enactment successful decades.”

“Complete other successful our [area of responsibility],” a poster who archetypal joined the forum successful 2012 replied. “No 1 has a hint what astir of ero is doing and are asking america to beryllium included connected thing migration we're doing and present them to DEA contacts moving investigations involving illegals.”

A 3rd poster, who has been a forum subordinate since 2024, added that “ERO does fundamentally nothing. I walked successful the bureau the different time and the HSI SAs were doing jailhouse pickups and processing. The ERO folks were gathered astir a table drinking java and joking around.” In cases wherever ICE has a petition retired to jails for a idiosyncratic they’re pursuing, known arsenic an migration detainer, jails volition clasp that idiosyncratic for up to “48 hours beyond the clip they would ordinarily merchandise them” to let ICE to prime them up.

In the lead-up to national migration authorities’ operations successful Minneapolis, members complained astir agelong hours. “How are RHAs expected to spell connected TDYs with NO days disconnected and tons of [overtime] erstwhile they are each capped retired (biweekly and yearly),” complained a idiosyncratic who archetypal joined the forum successful December 2004 successful a station from December 7, 2025. RHAs refers to rehired annuitants, oregon retired national agents who person returned to the occupation and proceed to cod their national status benefits. “ERO has NO caps.”

“I’m capped retired truthful lone getting paid for 5 days astatine 10 hours a day,” wrote the idiosyncratic who archetypal joined the forum successful 2010 successful different thread (overtime wage rules tin alteration from bureau to agency). ”Anything implicit 50 hours a week and I'm moving for free.”

Others successful the forum said they were waiting for their promised sign-on bonuses and expressed disappointment with what they saw successful their paychecks. For rehired annuitants, ICE offered a signing bonus of up to $50,000. “Not definite however they calculated the existent wage from the ace cheque received today, but excavation can’t beryllium right,” a poster who joined the forum successful 2021 wrote successful an October post. “My ace cheque netted maine a expansive full of $600 more.”

In different thread connected bonuses, a idiosyncratic who has been a forum subordinate since 2005 replied. “I got a deposit past nighttime oregon aboriginal this morning,” they wrote. “It looks similar 10k aft taxes positive my regular wage check. Not definite yet. However the woody was 20K. WTF?!”

In a December thread, different members discussed the mode migration agents had begun to interact much aggressively with protesters. The idiosyncratic identified arsenic a retired cause wrote, “I’ve seen a batch of videos lately of HSI oregon ERO agents getting triggered by civilians taking photos oregon videos of them oregon their vehicles. In respective of the videos the agents are seen jumping retired of their GOVs, manhandling the civilian, and smashing oregon confiscating their phones.” The idiosyncratic expressed bewilderment astir the behavior, penning that they “would person been fired and/or prosecuted for thing similar this. I judge everyone knows astatine this constituent that taking photos/videos is simply a protected enactment unless idiosyncratic is intelligibly impeding oregon obstructing (which doesn’t ever look to beryllium the case).”

Another poster, who joined the forum successful September 2025, replied, “Ah … Cell telephone video. You tin marque them archer what ever communicative you privation with originative editing.”

As portion of the effect to migration operations, peculiarly successful Minnesota, civilians person organized to show national agents, coordinating to witnesser and grounds their operations and sometimes tailing suspected ICE vehicles, checking licence plates successful Signal groups. Federal agents, successful turn, person been seen taking photos and videos of protesters, with 1 ineligible perceiver successful Maine claiming that an cause told her she would beryllium added to a panic ticker list. (In grounds this week, Todd Lyons, acting manager of ICE, told members of Congress that ICE was not making specified a database of US citizens.)

In posts passim the forum, members besides kick astir their entree to cogwheel and the agency’s technology. “Apparently determination is capable wealth to bargain a clump of ICE marked cars but not get america immoderate basal protective gear,” wrote 1 idiosyncratic connected January 27, who joined the forum successful 2025.

“I besides person a suspicion that HQ oregon the [executive subordinate director] person not advocated to get america cogwheel to grip each the seed occupation protesters,” they wrote successful a follow-up post.

On a thread named Alien Processing that started successful July 2025, posters complained: “How is it that with each the exertion we person and an full fkn gathering afloat of machine geeks this fkn bureau cannot marque a fkn strategy that works decently and efficaciously successful a elemental idiosyncratic affable fashion? This Eagle crap is simply a full mess!” 1 poster wrote. Eagle refers to Enforcement Integrated Database (EID) called EID Arrest Guide for Law Enforcement, a strategy to process the biometric and idiosyncratic accusation for radical arrested by ICE. “It takes longer to process a fkn alien than it does to really drawback them. We dont request 10,000 caller ICE Officers/Agents, conscionable prosecute fkn radical to process them truthful we tin bash our jobs of catching them.”

Members besides talked astir their preferred pieces of ICE tech: Another user, who joined the forum successful March 2025, responded to the Alien Processing thread, writing, “Mobile Fortify is the champion happening that has travel retired successful a agelong time,” a notation to the mobile face-recognition app utilized by national agents to place radical successful the field.

According to DHS’s 2025 AI Use Case Inventory, agents person been capable to usage Mobile Fortify since May 2025. The app uses AI, trained with CBP’s “Vetting/Border Crossing Information/ Trusted Traveler Information,” to lucifer a representation taken by agents and “contactless” fingerprints with existing records. 404 Media reported that the app has misidentified astatine slightest 1 person—perhaps because, arsenic WIRED has reported, it wasn’t designed to beryllium utilized for what ICE is utilizing it for.

Though ICE’s surge successful Minnesota appears to beryllium entering a drawdown, the bureau is continuing to grow its footprint crossed the US and is investing successful a web of detention centers and ample warehouses for holding immigrants, each indicating that detentions and deportations are not expected to dilatory down.