By REBECCA SANTANA, Associated Press

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement is an agency inside the Department of Homeland Security that is integral to President Donald Trump’s vision of carrying out the mass deportations he promised during the campaign. Deportation officers within a unit called Enforcement and Removal Operations are the ones who are responsible for immigration enforcement. They find and remove people from the United States who aren’t American citizens and, for a variety of reasons, no longer can stay in the country.

Some might have gone through immigration court and a judge ordered them removed. Or they were arrested or convicted of certain crimes, or they’ve repeatedly entered the country illegally or overstayed a visa. ICE also manages a growing network of immigration detention facilities around the country where it holds people suspected of immigration violations.

Overall, its activities — and how it carries them out — have polarized many Americans in recent months.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) speaks to the press at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) in Brunswick, Ga. on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025 about the training program ICE officers go through. (AP Photo/Fran Ruchalski)

After years when the number of deportation officers largely remained even, the agency is now rapidly hiring. Congress this summer passed legislation giving ICE $76.5 billion in new money to help speed up the pace of deportations. That’s nearly 10 times the agency’s current annual budget. Nearly $30 billion is for new staff.

Last week, The Associated Press got a chance to visit the base in southern Georgia where new ICE recruits are trained and to talk to the agency’s top leadership. Here are details about four things ICE is doing that came out of those conversations.

ICE is surging its hiring

ICE currently has about 6,500 deportation officers, and it is aggressively looking to beef up those numbers. Acting Director Todd Lyons says he wants to hire an additional 10,000 by year’s end.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) speaks to a group of trainees after they completed their time on the firing range at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) in Brunswick, Ga. on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Fran Ruchalski)

The agency has launched a new recruiting website, offered hiring bonuses as high as $50,000, and is advertising at career expos. Lyons said the agency has already received 121,000 applications — many from former officers.

New recruits are trained at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick, Georgia. That’s a sprawling facility near the coast where federal law enforcement officers — not just ICE agents — from around the country live and train. ICE is looking to more than double the number of instructors who train deportation officers.

Caleb Vitello, who runs training for ICE, says it has cut Spanish-language requirements to reduce training by five weeks, and he’s been looking for ways to streamline the training and have recruits do more at the field offices where they’re assigned.

ICE is also preparing for conflict

As Trump’s effort to deport millions of people has intensified, violent episodes have unfolded as ICE seeks to arrest people. Critics have said ICE is being too heavy-handed in carrying out arrests while ICE says its people are the ones being attacked.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) instructor demonstrates getting a 170 lb. dummy into a position to be handcuffed on the agility course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) in Brunswick, Ga. on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Fran Ruchalski)

Vitello said the agency tracks every time officers use force as well as any time someone attacks its officers. According to the agency’s data, from Jan. 21 through Aug. 5 there were 121 reported assaults of ICE officers compared with 11 during the same period last year.

Lyons said that after recent operations in Los Angeles turned violent, ICE is making gas masks and helmets standard issue for new agents. “Right now we’re seeing and we’re having to adapt to all different scenarios that we were never trained for in the past,” he said.

Lyons says the agency is also starting to send out security teams to accompany agents making arrests: “We’re not gonna allow people to throw rocks anymore, because we’re going to have our own agents and officers there to protect the ones that are actually out there making that arrest.”

And it’s beefing up specialized units for risky situations

About eight deportation officers dressed in military-style camouflage uniforms, helmets and carrying an assortment of weapons stand outside a house yelling “Police! We have a warrant!” before entering and clearing the house.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Response Team members demonstrate how the team enters a residence in the pursuit of a wanted subject at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) in Brunswick, Ga. on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Fran Ruchalski)

They are members of a Special Response Team taking part in a demonstration at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. These officers are like a SWAT team — deportation officers with special training to assist in difficult situations. They also accompany detainees the agency deems dangerous when they are deported.

“Everybody is trained to serve a warrant,” Vitello said. “These guys are trained to serve high-risk warrants.”

There are roughly 450 deportation officers with the special training to serve on these teams, and Lyons says they have been deployed to assist with immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, Portland, Oregon, and Washington.

He said he’d like to have more such units but wouldn’t put an exact number on how many. Vitello said they’re also in the process of getting more of the specially armored vehicles.

ICE teaches whom agents can arrest — and when

New recruits to ICE receive training on immigration law and the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unlawful searches. Longtime officers get regular refreshers on these topics.

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In limited situations, ICE agents are allowed to enter someone’s home. Generally when they’re seeking someone they’re trying to remove from the country, they have an administrative warrant as opposed to a criminal warrant. That administrative warrant doesn’t allow them to enter the house without first getting permission.

Vitello says the new recruits are taught about the different warrants and how the rules differ. And they’re taught how those who allowed ICE to enter their house can change their mind.

“If somebody says ‘Get out,’ and you don’t have your target, you have to leave,” he said.

Multiple videos on social media have shown ICE officers breaking car windows to pull someone out of a vehicle and arrest that person.

As ICE sees it, Vitello said, deportation officers do have the authority to arrest someone in a car or truck. Vitello said in the rare case where a target was in a motor home, officers would talk to the agency’s lawyers first to figure out what protections apply.

Advocates for immigrants and the government have often disagreed about how much authority ICE has to make those arrests and where.

Stillwater

Returning starters: 5 on offense, 2 on defense

Impact returnees: Running back Emilio Rosario Matias, who ran for 1,207 yards and 12 touchdowns last fall and defensive lineman Khalid Afuye, an Iowa State commit who tallied 61 tackles in 2024.

Shoutout to a lineman: Nolan von Behren is a captain who played nine positions for the Ponies last season, including long snapper.

Schedule: vs. Maple Grove, at Park, vs. Shakopee, at Mounds View, at Woodbury, vs. White Bear Lake, at East Ridge, vs. Forest Lake

The skinny: Nick Kinsey’s family move means Stillwater is transitioning at quarterback a year early. But the Ponies do have another arm ready to roll. Jack Runk played wide receiver as a sophomore, but the all-state shortstop could be the latest special Stillwater signal caller.

The Ponies’ early season schedule does them no favors – Stillwater hosts defending state champion Maple Grove to open the season Thursday and welcomes Shakopee, a state semifinalist from a year ago, in Week 3.

But Stillwater again figures to be a major player in the Metro East when the subdistrict schedule begins, and Ponies coach Beau LaBore called this year’s team a “very team-centered group that loves football.”

White Bear Lake

Returning starters: 4 on offense, 5 on defense

Impact returnees: Senior quarterback Tomi Animasaun enters his third year under center. He threw for nearly 1,500 yards last season. Linebacker Vince Kazmierczak is a big, strong kid who could go both ways for the Bears.

Shoutout to a lineman: Center Josh LaPean lived in the weight room in the offseason, putting on 40 pounds to get himself into a position to play.

Schedule: vs. Park, at Coon Rapids, vs. Farmington, at East Ridge, vs. Forest Lake, at Stillwater, vs. Woodbury, at Mounds View.

The skinny: White Bear Lake is built on team speed, particularly this season. The Bears are flush with athletes, which is evident in the backfields. On defense, the Bears have the likes of ballhawking safety Lincoln Bacha and stout corners Ty Mueller and Braylon Minor.

Offensively, the skill position speed of Easton Miles and junior running back Brian White lll, who ran for 144 yards against Stillwater last year before going down with an injury the following week, should present opposing defenses with problems.

Woodbury

2024 record: 2-7 (lost in first round of Class 6A playoffs)

Returning starters: 7 on offense and 6 on defense

Impact returnees: Junior Nolan Freymiller is a tight end and safety who played H-back last year but will be all over the field this fall. Junior running back Mark Mathis is back healthy and, when that’s the case, he’s extremely explosive.

Shoutout to a lineman: Senior defensive end Ethan Olson is one of Woodbury’s two captains and, as coach Andy Hill put it, “has really embodied everything a high school football program hopes to be.”

Schedule: at Roseville, vs. Moorhead, at Hopkins, at Forest Lake, vs. Stillwater, vs. Mounds View, at White Bear Lake, vs. East Ridge

The skinny: Woodbury was a hyper-young team a year ago and, frankly, that’s still true to some degree this year, as the Royals have a strong core of juniors to complement their current senior class.

In that sense, the Royals are building something. Woodbury coach Andy Hill said the Royals recorded their sheer volume and attendance numbers in their offseason strength program were the best they’ve been in his 15 years at the helm.

East Ridge

Returning starters: 7 on offense, 6 on defense

Impact returnees: Quarterback Cedric Tomes is a Gophers basketball commit who’s also the point guard of the Raptors’ offense. Threw for 10 touchdowns and ran for 10 more last fall. Henry Bern is a three-year defensive starter who can play linebacker or on the line and sports an offer from St. Thomas.

Shoutout to a lineman: Hayden Galvan is a returning starter capable of playing all five positions across the offensive line thanks in part to his high football IQ.

Schedule: at Minnetonka, vs. Hopkins, at Roseville, vs. White Bear Lake, vs. Mounds View, at Forest Lake, vs. Stillwater, at Woodbury

The skinny: Raptors coach Dan Fritze raves about the connectivity of his group and the quality of their character. On the field, the team’s versatility shines through, with Ben Knaup oscillating between offensive line, defensive line and … running back, and Jack Wennerberg, Nick Gerhardt and Matthew Brennan among those who can play both ways.

Tight end Andrew Tharaldson and running back Vince Hurley are also among offensive playmakers.

Forest Lake

2024 record: 7-3 (lost in second round of Class 6A playoffs)

Returning starters: 8 on offense, 7 on defense

Impact returnees: Defensive lineman Howie Johnson, a Gophers commit who tallied 32 tackles for loss in 2024, and running back Mack Jurkovich, who ran for 1,165 yards and nine scores as a sophomore.

Shoutout to a lineman: Senior Jack Chelgren is a returner on the offensive front.

Schedule: vs. Prior Lake, at Anoka, vs. Park, vs. Woodbury, at White Bear Lake, vs. East Ridge, at Mounds View, at Stillwater.

The skinny: The Rangers return 100% of their skill player production from last fall, a nearly impossible feat in high school sports. Highlighting that list is quarterback Connor Johnson. Forest Lake’s entire defensive line returns, as do three senior linebackers (Nate Schleif, Cullen Christenson and AJ Degerstrom). Even uber-talented kicker Jayden Onuonga is back.

So much experience to build off last year’s stellar season creates a high bar for this Rangers season.

Said Rangers coach Brad Beeskow: “This is a hungry group that is ready to take the next step.”

Mounds View

2024 record: 8-3 (lost in Class 6A state quarterfinals)

Returning starters: 3 on offense, 3 on defense

Impact returnees: An all-district performer, Godson Rufus-Okomhanru is a special receiver/running back on offense who is also critical to the Mustangs’ defense. One of the premier two-way players in the state.

Shoutout to a lineman: Junior Max Hoerneman.will play both ways and touts a high motor and a relentless work ethic.

Schedule: at Lakeville South, vs. Roseville, at Maple Grove, vs. Stillwater, at East Ridge, at Woodbury, vs. Forest Lake, vs. White Bear Lake.

The skinny: There may be some assumption the Mustangs will take a step back sans do-it-all star quarterback Jacob Sampson. But Beckham Wheeler is next up, and the 6-foot-4 signal caller has a strong frame, can move, had a strong offseason and has taken on a leadership role in the program.

Mounds View graduated 18 seniors from last year’s standout squad. This year’s juniors and seniors went a combined 3-13 on their freshmen teams.

Yet coach Aaron Moberg has a firm belief in this group and its work ethic.

“We will be young, but I believe these guys are on a mission to write their own special story,” Mobert said. “They are a joy to coach and develop.”

Farmington

2024 record: 5-4 (lost in first round of Class 6A playoffs)

Returning starters: 5 on offense, 6 on defense

Impact returnees: After leading the team in tackles in 2024 at inside linebacker, Chris Rehak is expected to get a heavy load at running back this fall. Linebacker Max Blandin is a versatile field patrol who defends the run and pass well.

Shoutout to a lineman: Tigers coach Jon Pieper calls returning junior offensive tackle Rocco Fulk “nasty and aggressive.”

Schedule: vs. Eastview, at Lakeville North, at White Bear Lake, vs. Lakeville South, vs. Rosemount, at Eagan, vs. Shakopee, at Prior Lake

The skinny: The Tigers defense figures to be stout, with Division-2 prospects littered across the field in defensive backs Daniel Sather and Logan Petsinger, defensive end Hank VonBank and Blandin at linebacker.

Since graduated dual-threat quarterback Jonah Ask carried the offense last year, but Cade Boyles will take the snaps this fall and guide an offense that could feature a strong rushing attack.

Prior Lake

2024 record: 5-5 (lost in second round of Class 6A playoffs)

Returning starters: Not known

Impact returnees: Receiver Aiden Mbinda was the team’s leading receiver in 2024. Linebacker Dylan Hawley led the team in tackles last year, with 86.

Shoutout to a lineman: Iowa State commit Ethan Beckman is one of the top offensive linemen in the state.

Schedule: at Forest Lake, vs. Eagan, at Rosemount, vs. Minnetonka, at Lakeville North, vs. Shakopee, at Lakeville South, vs. Farmington

The skinny: Prior Lake has to replace its offensive backfield, but there’s enough returning talent up front and defensively to surmise the Lakers will again be a tough out.

Shakopee

2024 record: 10-2 (lost in Class 6A state semifinals)

Returning starters: 2 on offense, 4 on defense

Impact returnees: Junior safety Blake Betton is one of the top recruits in the state, with offers from the likes of Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan. Judah Forsberg ran for north of 500 yards last season while also handling quarterback duties.

Shoutout to a lineman: Defensive lineman Nehemiah Ombati has offers from South Dakota State and North Dakota.

Schedule: at Eagan, vs. Lakeville South, at Stillwater, vs. Rosemount, vs. Osseo, at Prior Lake, at Farmington, vs. Lakeville North

The skinny: Shakopee has a number of fresh faces after graduating a large chunk from last year’s title contender, but the Sabers are restocked with athletes and gamebreakers. Running backs Joseph Taye, Carson Turner and Chris Peris and receiver Quinn Schriever all have explosive possibilities, while Ombati and linebacker Blake Loughlin are poised for potential breakouts. Loughlin will be aided by returning linebackers such as Andrew McGee and Mike Doering.