Cornell Career Services is promoting multiple positions at the Department of Homeland Security, including the role of Deportation Officer at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Deportation Officer position appeared on the Career Services website on August 1, linking to job postings on platforms USA Jobs and Handshake.
ICE is a government agency responsible for the deportation, arrests and detainment of individuals suspected of being illegal immigrants. It is projected to potentially be the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency under the Trump Administration in 2026, with a budget set to surpass the FBI.
Prior to the Deportation Officer listing, Career Services began promoting recruitment webinars and Zoom sessions for jobs at the United States Customs and Border Patrol Agency, appearing on the Cornell Career Services’ “Experiences” page as of July 8. These webinars have been similarly promoted at other universities, including Columbia University and Yale University.
Webinars for Border Patrol applications were held on several dates in July and were open to 1,295 schools and colleges across the country, according to a Cornell spokesperson.
Following the passage of the Trump Administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” — an 887-page spending bill outlining tax cuts and budget increases for Trump-era programs — there has been an increased push to recruit new members to the Border Patrol and ICE.
ICE is planning to add 10,000 new agents and will receive $76 billion from the “One Big Beautiful Bill” over the next four years. The bill allocates $8 billion for Border Patrol recruitment, and Immigration enforcement received a $170 billion total funding increase.
ICE recently changed the minimum age for an officer from 21 to 18, and they are now offering a sign-on bonus of $50,000 alongside promises of $60,000 towards student loan forgiveness.
The Department of Homeland Security also launched the Customs and Border Patrol Pathways program this summer alongside the webinars, offering an internship opportunity for prospective Border Patrol employees.
When asked about the selection process for jobs posted on the Cornell Career Services website, Erica Kryst, executive director of Cornell Career Services, explained that "thousands of employers are approved to recruit at Cornell through Handshake. We typically have over 20,000 active postings at any given time.” She added that “Cornell does not promote certain jobs over others.”
When a Cornell-approved employer posts a job listing on Handshake, they can choose which universities receive the posting. The Handshake posts are then directly integrated into the Career Services page displayed to students.
Handshake is a career recruiting tool used by universities and institutions to connect students with job opportunities. It is used by 92 percent of top 4-year institutions, according to its website.
A University spokesperson explained that Cornell Career Services did not host the Law Enforcement Opportunities and Resume Workshop on Zoom and suggested contacting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which organized the event, for further information.
The positions for Border Patrol and ICE promoted by Cornell Career Services follow concerns over immigration services on campus. In the spring, fears flared as ICE raids against students gained national attention and Cornell Ph.D. student Momodou Taal faced potential deportation.
Prof. Shannon Gleeson, labor relations, law and history, expressed concern that the promotion of these jobs could create a sense of insecurity for students facing immigration-related issues.
“It’s not simply that we are training our workforce for the deportation machinery,” Gleeson said, “but it’s also that, as with many other aspects of federal jobs at recruitment fairs and otherwise, the presence of the Department of Homeland Security on campus makes people feel unsafe.”
Cornell currently provides protocol for staff interactions with ICE alongside resources to undocumented students and guides for farmworkers regarding protocol when approached by ICE officers. The Cornell Small Farms program also provides detailed information on protection from an ICE or Border Patrol encounter.
“Any non-citizen is deportable,” Gleeson said. “So, green card holders — of which there are many — students, staff and faculty. And I don’t think there is a particular appetite to have a greater presence of [the Department of Homeland Security] on our campus, even in the context of the career fair.”
Correction, August 25, 6:50 p.m.: A previous version of this article incorrectly explained that a University spokesperson did not comment about the job postings or ask The Sun to contact the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about the job postings.
