ICE officers say internal chaos has led to thousands of employee departures

Published October 4, 2026 6:00am ET



Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeing higher employee turnover rates under President Donald Trump than at any point in the federal agency’s history.

In the first half of 2026, thousands of ICE employees left, and the bulk of those departures were due to resignations and terminations, not retirements, according to federal data reviewed by USA Today.

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