By Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he wants to hire 10,000 new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and 3,000 new Border Patrol agents, but experts and the history of law enforcement hiring sprees suggest the process could be challenging, lengthy and possibly result in problematic hires.

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The massive funding bill signed into law this month by Trump earmarks about $170 billion for border and immigration enforcement, including tens of billions for new deportation agents and other personnel. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement to The Times, said that the agency will deliver on the president’s hiring directive.

“In June, our 2025 Career Expo successfully recruited 3,000 candidates and generated 1,000 tentative job offers — nearly double the 564 from 2023,” she wrote. “Our recruitment strategy includes targeted outreach, thorough vetting and partnerships with state and local law enforcement.”

During his first term, when Trump called for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to hire 15,000 people collectively, a July 2017 report by the Homeland Security inspector general found significant setbacks.

“Although DHS has established plans and initiated actions to begin an aggressive hiring surge, in recent years the Department and its components have encountered notable difficulties related to long hire times, proper allocation of staff, and the supply of human resources,” the report states.

The independent watchdog concluded that to meet the goal of 10,000 new immigration officers, ICE would need more than 500,000 applicants. For CBP to hire 5,000 new agents, it would need 750,000 applicants.

It doesn’t appear either goal was met. In 2017, ICE hired 371 deportation officers from more than 11,000 applications and took 173 days on average to finalize hires, the news outlet Government Executive reported. And Cronkite News reported that when Trump left office in 2021, Border Patrol had shrunk by more than 1,000 agents.

“The mere mechanics of hiring that many people is challenging and takes time,” said John Pfaff, a law professor at Fordham University who studies U.S. incarceration and has researched the hiring challenges ICE faces.

When the initial version of the funding bill passed the House of Representatives, it laid out a target of at least 10,000 ICE officers, agents and support staff, specifying a minimum of 2,500 people in fiscal year 2025 and 1,875 people in each subsequent year through 2029.

The legislation didn’t outline specific hiring goals for Customs and Border Protection, the parent agency of Border Patrol, though Homeland Security said that, in addition to the 3,000 Border Patrol agents, the funding will also support the hiring of 3,000 more customs officers at ports of entry.

The Senate modified the bill and on final passage, the law removed those hiring specifics, meaning ICE can use the funding for a variety of purposes. ICE has more than 20,000 law enforcement and support personnel. CBP has 60,000 employees, including about 19,000 Border Patrol agents.

Studies on accelerated hiring efforts have found that, in some cases, contracts were poorly managed. Ten months into a 2018 contract with the professional services firm Accenture, by which point CBP had paid $13.6 million, the inspector general found that just two people had accepted job offers.

Hiring thousands of employees would be an even bigger lift today, Pfaff said.

He pointed to the fact that since 2020, police departments nationwide have also struggled to recruit and retain officers. Immigration officer pay is lower than rookie salaries at big-city law enforcement agencies, such as the New York Police Department.

A job posting for a deportation officer offers a salary range of about $50,000 to $90,000. Pfaff compared that with NYPD, where officer salaries start at just over $60,000 and rise to more than $125,000 in less than six years.

Another recruitment push resulted in a wave of high-profile corruption cases.

During a Border Patrol hiring spree from 2006 to 2009, standards for hiring and training were lowered, about 8,000 agents were brought on. The Associated Press reported that the number of employees arrested for misconduct — such as civil rights violations or off-duty crimes like domestic violence — grew yearly between 2007 and 2012, reaching 336, or a 44% increase. More than 100 employees were arrested or charged with corruption, including taking bribes to smuggle drugs or people.

A 2015 report from an internal audit by a CBP advisory council said that “arrests for corruption of CBP personnel far exceed, on a per capita basis, such arrests at other federal law enforcement agencies.”

Josiah Heyman, an anthropology professor who directs the University of Texas at El Paso’s Center of Inter-American and Border Studies, studied the mid-2000s hiring spree. He said smuggling organizations have only gotten more sophisticated since then, as have security measures, so it’s more valuable for smugglers to “buy someone off” instead of attempting to bring in people or drugs undetected.

Beyond corruption, Heyman said he worries the drive to quickly increase Homeland Security staffing could lead to Americans being deported, as well as an increase of assault and abuse cases and deaths of detainees.

“Getting 10,000 [new employees] means basically hiring the people who walk in the door because you’re trying to hit your quota,” he said. “Rapid, mass-hiring lends itself to mistakes and cutting corners.”

The recruitment issues at Border Patrol led to reforms, such as the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010, which included mandatory polygraph testing for job applicants (though that requirement was not implemented for ICE applicants). The polygraph tests revealed some applicants had concerning backgrounds, including some believed to have links to organized crime.

The reforms also slowed hiring as two-thirds of Border Patrol applicants began failing the polygraph exam by 2017, the Associated Press reported.

If the government is not able to hit its hiring goals, it might turn to contractors, the U.S. military and local law enforcement to help carry out Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration. It is likely to continue its expansion of the 287(g) program, which deputizes local law enforcement to function as deportation agents. Homeland Security said the new budget will fully fund the 287(g) program.

Pfaff said that while using local police to make immigration arrests could help in the short term, many major cities and states, including California, have already banned the agreements or limited cooperation with ICE. Still, ProPublica reported that more than 500 law enforcement agencies have signed 287(g) agreements since January.

Jason Houser, who was ICE’s chief of staff under the Biden administration, said training new hires takes about a year and that classes are typically capped at 50 students.

Houser said another short-term workaround for permanent staff could be the use of contractors.

Most immigrant detainees are held in facilities that are run by private prison companies, including the Florida-based GEO Group and Tennessee-based CoreCivic.

But those companies have a limited inventory of detention space. CBP could also use its funding to erect soft-sided, temporary facilities on military bases within the 100 miles of the U.S. boundary, in which CBP has authority to conduct immigration checkpoints and other enhanced enforcement activities.

Houser said temporary facilities could be set up by October, and they could be staffed with National Guard or U.S. military personnel in administrative, nursing, food and sanitation roles.

Federal law generally prohibits the military from arresting civilians. But Homeland Security officials have said military personnel have the authority to temporarily detain anyone who attacks an immigration agent until law enforcement can arrest them.

But Houser worries that placing young service members, who aren’t trained to conduct civil detention, in charge of those facilities will lead to people getting hurt. He also worries that without other countries agreeing to accept more deportees, the number of immigrants detained for months could quickly balloon.

As of June 29, there were nearly 58,000 immigrants held in detention, according to TRAC, a nonpartisan data research organization. That’s far beyond the congressionally approved 41,500 detention beds this fiscal year.

“This is 9/11-style money,” Houser said. “Think about the money in counterterrorism post-9/11. It turns the entire apparatus toward this goal. Everything in government is going to turn to where the money is, and that’s the scary piece to me.”

©2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(Ben Sargent)

To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section. Find Observer political reporting here.

The post Loon Star State: Among the Tragically Missing… appeared first on The Texas Observer.

By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and TIA GOLDENBERG, Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since May while trying to get food in the Gaza Strip, mostly in the vicinity of aid sites run by an Israeli-backed American contractor, the United Nations human rights office said Tuesday. Israeli strikes killed 25 people across Gaza, according to local health officials.

Desperation is mounting in the territory of more than 2 million, which experts say is at risk of famine because of Israel’s blockade and ongoing 21-month offensive. A breakdown of law and order has led to widespread looting and contributed to chaos and violence around aid deliveries.

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Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, said Tuesday that 101 people, including 80 children, have died in recent days from starvation. It did not provide precise diagnoses, but people in hunger crises often die from a combination of malnutrition, illness and deprivation.

Israel eased a 2 1/2 month blockade in May, allowing a trickle of aid in through the longstanding U.N.-run system and the newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, an American contractor. Aid groups say it’s not nearly enough.

Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid — without providing evidence of widespread diversion — and blames U.N. agencies for failing to deliver food it has allowed in.

In a statement, GHF rejected what it said were “false and exaggerated statistics” from the U.N., saying the deadliest incidents have been linked to U.N. aid convoys.

‘I do it for my children’

Dozens of Palestinians lined up on Tuesday outside a charity kitchen in Gaza City, hoping for a bowl of watery tomato soup. The lucky ones had some chunks of eggplant floating in theirs. As supplies ran out, people holding pots pushed and shoved to get to the front.

Nadia Mdoukh, a pregnant woman who was displaced from her home and lives in a tent with her husband and three children, said she worries about being shoved or trampled, and about heat stroke as daytime temperatures hover above 90 degrees Farhenheit (32 C).

“I do it for my children. This is famine — there is no bread or flour,” she said. “We take this soup, and it does not come with rice or anything.”

The U.N. World Food Program says Gaza’s hunger crisis has reached “new and astonishing levels of desperation.” Ross Smith, the agency’s director for emergencies, told reporters Monday that nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, and a third of Gaza’s population is not eating for multiple days in a row.

Over 1,000 killed seeking food

Of the 1,054 people killed while trying to get food since late May, 766 were killed while heading to sites run by the Israeli- and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to the U.N. human rights office. The others were killed when gunfire erupted around U.N. convoys or aid sites.

Thameen al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the U.N. rights office, says its figures come from “multiple reliable sources on the ground,” including medics, humanitarian and human rights organizations. He said the numbers were still being verified according to the office’s strict methodology.

Palestinian witnesses and health officials say Israeli forces regularly fire toward crowds of thousands of people heading to the GHF sites. The military says it has only fired warning shots, and GHF says its armed contractors have only fired into the air on a few occasions to try to prevent stampedes.

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed from an Israeli army bombardment of Gaza, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The U.N. has refused to work with the GHF, saying its model violates humanitarian principles and puts lives at risk.

A joint statement from 28 Western-aligned countries on Monday condemned the “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.”

“The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,” read the statement, which was signed by the United Kingdom, France and other countries friendly to Israel. “The Israeli government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable.”

Israel and the United States rejected the statement, blaming Hamas for prolonging the war by not accepting Israeli terms for a ceasefire and the release of hostages abducted in the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that triggered the fighting.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel says it will keep fighting until Hamas has been defeated or disarmed.

Strikes on tents sheltering displaced people

Israeli strikes killed at least 25 people across Gaza on Tuesday, according to local health officials, as Israel pushed on with a new incursion in the central city of Deir al-Balah, an area that had largely been spared heavy fighting.

A Palestinian man carries the body of a child killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

One strike hit tents sheltering displaced people in the built-up seaside Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The Israeli military said it was not aware of such a strike by its forces.

The dead included three women and three children, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of the hospital told The Associated Press. Thirty-eight other Palestinians were wounded, he said.

The strike tore apart tents and left some of the dead lying on the ground, according to footage shared by the Health Ministry’s ambulance and emergency service.

An overnight strike that hit crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza City killed eight, hospitals said. At least 118 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on that strike. Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on Hamas because they operate in densely populated areas.

Israel renewed its offensive in March with a surprise bombardment after ending an earlier ceasefire. Talks on another truce have dragged on for weeks despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.

‘Time to end this nonsense’

Hamas abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.

More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

In Jerusalem, top church leaders called on the international community to help bring an end to the war after making a rare visit to Gaza last week.

Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, left, and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III greet each other before attending a press conference following their visit to the Gaza Strip, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Their visit came after Gaza’s only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell in an attack that killed three people and wounded 10, including a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis. The strike drew condemnation from Pope Leo XIV and Trump, and prompted statements of regret from Israel, which said it was an accident.

“It is time to end this nonsense, end the war,” Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told reporters.

Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III said they witnessed a Gaza that was “almost totally destroyed.” They said they saw older people, women and boys “totally starved and hungry” and called for urgent humanitarian aid.

“Every hour without food, water, medicine, and shelter causes deep harm,” Pizzaballa said. “It is morally unacceptable and unjustifiable.”

Magdy reported from Cairo and Goldenberg from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed.

Kauai is the smallest, northernmost and geologically oldest of the Hawaiian islands and boasts one of the most stunning island settings in the world.  Just 552 square miles in size, the Garden Island’s landscape gets lush and wild on the remote North Shore, only about an hour’s drive (30 miles) from the airport in Lihue.

Here you’ll find the beautiful crescent-shaped Hanalei Bay ringed by the famously rugged cliffs of the Napali coast, plus an unspoiled, beach-lined coastline that bursts with wild Pacific beauty. Sun, rainclouds, wind and ocean waves caress the bay and vibrant sunrises and sunsets paint an atmospheric canvas of pure tropical beauty — often one of the prettiest sights in the Hawaiian Islands.

An outrigger canoe crosses Hanalei Bay at sunset. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

A drive to Kauai’s North Shore is half the fun: Starting from Lihue’s low-key, small scale airport, you quickly exit town and head north through several colorful coastal towns of Kapa’a, Wailua, Kilauea, and the funky, Old Hawaii surf town of Hanalei. For beach and hiking provisions, be sure to stop at the Princeville Center, where a Foodland market carries everything you need for day trips (check out the fresh ahi poke bowls, banana and mango macadamia nut bread, guava juice sodas, and purple bread rolls made from taro root) and don’t miss Lappert’s Hawaiian ice cream shop and its enticing tropical flavored treats (love the Lava Tube sundae.)

Tunnels Beach on Kauai is known for its sparking, clear water. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

Just north of the upscale Princeville resort community, the landscape becomes extraordinarily lush, with graceful waterfalls cascading down steep green mountains, and small rivers and streams flowing steadily to the sea though steep narrow ravines creasing the slopes of Mount Waialeale, one of the rainiest spots on Earth. At the Hanalei Valley Lookout, the gateway to the far north shore, you enjoy a panorama of the Hanalei River Valley and Kauai’s famed taro fields, laid out in a dreamlike patchwork quilt of green.

An overlook on Kauai’s North Shore offers views of taro fields and distant mountains. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

After crossing the historic Hanalei Bridge — the first of seven, one-lane bridges on the journey to the far North Shore — a two-lane highway meanders for the next several miles to the quaint town of Hanalei, where you explore this old-school Hawaiian village and take in its hip surf vibe and eclectic mix of structures like the Old Hanalei Schoolhouse and Ching Young Village — a set of historic buildings now home to shops and restaurants.

The AMA ramen restaurant offers great mountain views from its patio. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

The town’s picturesque Wai’oli Hui’ia church is set beneath a backdrop of soaring, waterfall-laced mountains. Enjoy lunch at eateries such as local favorite Tropical Taco, or the Hanalei Poke food truck. Other excellent eating options in town include AMA ramen restaurant (great mountain views from the restaurant patio), the riverside Hanalei Dolphin and colorful Tahiti Nui, which was featured in a scene from the 2011 film “The Descendants” in which George Clooney’s character meets with his cousin, played by Beau Bridges. (This family-run restaurant also has a very fun, small-scale luau on Wednesday evenings.)

Tahiti Nui, a colorful local spot that was featured in the film “The Descendants,” offers a small-scale luau on Wednesday evenings. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

Cool off with a mango-passion fruit shave ice at JoJo’s before heading a few blocks to Pine Trees beach and Black Pot beach near the iconic Hanalei pier to sunbathe, beachcomb, or body board and surf in the gentle bay waves. Other must-see shops in Hanalei include Havaiki Oceanic and Tribal Art, Yellowfish Trading Company for new and vintage Hawaiiana and Hanalei Strings music shop for handcrafted ukuleles.

A couple takes in a dazzling sunset from Black Pot Beach on the North Shore of Kauai. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

Continuing north, the coastal road narrows even more and a series of one-lane bridges force you to slow down and absorb the stunning scenery of this wave-swept shore. The views are magical: rugged emerald mountains adorned with waterfalls, and aquamarine seas framed by white sand beaches. Just a few miles before the end of the road and the start of the famously scenic and almost inaccessible Napali coast, you reach the tranquil community of Ha’ena and , where you can take a shuttle (reservations required) to visit Haena State Park’s wet and dry caves; Tunnels and Ke’e beaches for great snorkeling; and the Lumahuli Garden & Preserve, which teems with native species in an otherworldly landscape.

Where to stay

A beachgoer reclines on Puu Poa Beach at 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay resort. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

Hanalei’s Bay most luxurious lodging option is 1 Hanalei Bay, the posh new eco-friendly wellness resort in the resort community of Princeville. Draped on the cliffs overlooking serene Hanalei Bay, the resort reopened on February 2023 after a $300 million dollar re-imagination and features 252 nature-inspired rooms, including 51 suites, seven food and beverage venues, 18,000 square foot wellness center, 7,900 square foot fitness facility, three pools, an artist studio, children’s activity center, rooftop organic garden with native canoe crops and dedicated apiaries.

A visitor takes in Hanalei Bay from Puu Poa Beach at 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

Guests have on-site access to services such as IV therapies, medical aesthetics, body analysis, metabolic testing and VO2 testing and analysis  with tailored treatments aimed to stimulate cellular health, regeneration, and a transformative health reset. The resort also offers custom itineraries designed around wellness goals incorporating sustainable nutrition, fitness training, Kauai plant-based and touchless technology therapies, and functional medicine. Details: www.1hotels.com/hanalei-bay

Hanalei Colony Beach Resort is a quiet, secluded resort about 4 miles north of Hanalei that offers guests complimentary shuttles to nearby attractions. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

For a smaller scale, “unplugged” hideaway escape on Kauai’s North Shore, check out the secluded Hanalei Colony Resort, set on a quiet, sandy shoreline a few miles north of Hanalei town. In addition to kitchen-equipped suites, a spa and a pool, the resort offers guests complimentary shuttles to the pristine and scenic Tunnels beach (great for snorkeling) and adjoining Haena State Park, as well as Hanalei and Princeville. Details: www.hcr.com

Beachgoers take in a rainbow at Hanalei Colony Resort beach. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

Adventures on Kauai’s North Shore

Kauai is a nirvana for adventure and active travelers. From hiking the lush, jungly Napali coast, kayaking the Wailua River on the east shore’s “Coconut Coast,” to beach and canyon hikes on the south and west shores, there’s an abundance of adventures to seek out.

Hiking

A hiker enjoys the views along the Kalalau Trail on Kauai. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

The North Shore is no exception and features the world-famous Kalalau Trail leading to Hanakapiai beach and waterfall (4 miles and 8 miles roundtrip, respectively), and eventually to the remote Kalalau Valley, a 22-mile roundtrip overnight backpacking experience (State park permits are required for backpackers.)

The Kalalau trail offers exhilarating views of the Napali Coast. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

With awe-inspiring views of towering cliffs, lush valleys, waterfalls, and sea caves, the Kalalau Trail is considered one of the most scenic, if challenging, hikes in all the islands (advance hiking reservations required up to 30 days in advance for non-Hawaii residents.) Whether hikers do the full hike or just a portion, the trail is a highlight of any visit to Kauai.

Backpackers hike through jungle terrain on the Kalalau trail. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

The short first leg of the route is a somewhat rigorous but unforgettable hiking adventure that captures the essence of the North Shore. You start near Ke’e beach and ascend a the rocky and somewhat steep cliffside trail across lava rocks and across streams to Hanakapiai Beach, where you can picnic under shady pandanus trees or on the small, rocky strand. Don’t attempt to swim here as the ocean currents are extremely dangerous and there have been many drownings. General info: www.kalalautrail.com. Shuttle info: www.gohaena.com.

Hanakapiai Beach is accessible via a 4-mile hike along the Kalalau trail. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

Kayaking

Kayakers are launched from Hideaways Beach in Princeville, Kauai. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

Take a relaxing kayak tour of the Hanalei river and bay to scenic Hideaways Beach with Kayak Kauai. Details: www.kayakkauai.com

Surfing

Kauai visitors get a surf lesson at Hanalei Bay. (Photo by Ben Davidson)

Learn to surf with the experts at Hanalei-based Hawaiian Surfing Adventures. Details: www.hawaiiansurfingadventures.com

Nature walk

Explore the hillside trails of the Limahuli Garden & Preserve, one of three National Tropical Botanical Gardens on Kauai and a preserve for many native plant species, some only found on Kauai’s North Shore. Details: www.ntbg.org/gardens/limahuli

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