The Department of Homeland Security is shifting gears—and staff—at one of the worst possible times. FEMA employees are being directed to temporarily transfer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to support a massive hiring push for 10,000 new agents. If they don’t accept the 90-day detail, their jobs could be on the line.
Internal notices have gone out to FEMA’s HR and security teams, making it clear: accept the ICE assignment, or potentially face termination. The move is part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive effort to expand immigration enforcement—one of his top second-term priorities.
But the timing has many raising eyebrows. The transfer is happening during peak hurricane season, when FEMA is expected to be at full capacity. Critics warn that taking away even support staff could disrupt disaster response efforts just when the country may need them most.
A DHS spokesperson insists this won’t affect FEMA’s ability to function. “This is an all-hands-on-deck strategy,” they said. But the reality is FEMA is already stretched thin. The agency has lost thousands of employees, including senior leadership, in recent months through resignations, retirements, and layoffs.
The reassignments show just how far the administration is willing to go to ramp up ICE’s workforce, ven if it means sidelining FEMA’s critical functions during a national emergency season.
