Deportation Officer

Are you ready to defend the homeland? Launch a dynamic and rewarding career as a Deportation Officer with Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) at ICE! Join a dedicated team safeguarding U.S. borders and upholding immigration laws, playing a key role in defending our nation. Organizational Location: Positions are located within ERO Field Office Areas of Consideration (FOD AOR) and are assigned based on the needs of the agency.

Major duties
As a Deportation Officer, you will work with more experienced officers to provide support and perform the following segments of work related to immigration investigation, custody, identification and location, arrest, prosecution and deportation:: Performing law enforcement duties to investigate, identify, locate, arrest, detain, prosecute, and remove foreign nationals who pose a threat to national security and public safety, as well as those that enter the United States illegally with the intent to undermine the integrity of the nation's immigration laws and border control efforts. Conducting difficult, complex, and sensitive investigations that require development of new or substantially modified methods in order to resolve anticipated problems for the purpose of identifying violators of immigration laws through the use of investigative methods and techniques as well as determining citizenship, to include gathering facts and evidence pertaining to aliens who pose a threat to national security and/or public safety. Conducting custody determinations regarding the detention of aliens in accordance with constitutional law, federal statutes, regulations and policies; coordinating and negotiating with domestic and foreign law enforcement agencies to manage the detention and removal of aliens in the U.S.; and sharing compiled actionable intelligence information with law enforcement intelligence communities. Interviewing witnesses and interrogating suspects to gather critical information and evidence; obtaining and serving criminal and civil warrants of arrest; serving as agency lead on interagency, federal, state, and local law enforcement task forces to address threats to national security or public safety, as well as processing, detaining, and transporting aliens throughout the legal process. Determining legal sufficiency to identify cases that meet the elements of a federal crime and the prosecutorial guidelines of the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO); presenting cases for criminal proceedings; preparing and issuing subpoenas in support of criminal prosecutions; and initiating both criminal and civil prosecutions and deporting aliens to foreign countries as well as performing various aspects of custodial operations related to civil immigration enforcement. This is an open continuous announcement closing 12/31/2026. The initial cut-off date for qualified applicants to be considered for selection is scheduled for 10/13/2026. Additional cut-off dates for selection consideration will be established based on agency needs. NOTE: Applicants currently serving in the ICE Deportation Officer position cannot use this announcement for reassignment, promotion or change to lower grade purposes. This journey-man level role may offer up to $30,000 in signing bonuses. Recruitment incentives available to eligible candidates require a service agreement. An additional one-time $5,000 incentive will be given to eligible candidates in the following hard to fill locations: Karnes City, TX * Folkston, GA * Providence, RI * Binghamton, NY * Milwaukee, WI * Kansas City, MO * Louisville, KY * Amarillo, TX * San Angelo, TX * Casper, WY * Cheyenne, WY * Gillette, WY * Fargo, ND * Duluth, MN * Minot, ND * Rock Springs, WY * Centennial, CO * Albuquerque, NM * Philipsburg, PA * Tucson, AZ * Fort Snelling, MN * Sioux Falls, SD * Rapid City, SD * Cedar Rapids, IA * Grand Forks, ND * North Platte, NE * Lafayette, LA * Seattle, WA * Anchorage, AK * Eugene, OR * Richland, WA * San Francisco, CA * Boise, ID * Springfield, MA * Saipan, MP. Geographic Preference: You have the opportunity to identify TWO geographic preferences in your application. Your preference locations are NOT guaranteed. The duty location extended at the final job offer will be based on the needs of the Agency and availability of positions and funding. Upon final job offer you may be offered a duty location that is not within your geographic preferences. You must be willing to accept any duty location that falls within the area of responsibility (AOR). For example, if offered FOD Atlanta, you may be offered a final duty location of Lumpkin, GA. Please view the duty locations within each FOD AOR ICE Field Offices. If you decline the duty location offered during the official job offer, you will be removed from further consideration. Selectees' applications will not be placed on hold to wait for a more desirable location to become available. You will have to reapply to a new announcement. Location: Selectees are required to pay all expenses to initial duty location. Travel expenses for training will be at Agency expense. Salary: The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the lowest and highest potential salaries for this position. The actual salary range will be based on the applicable locality pay for the selected duty location. Special Salary pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages.

Qualifications
View Common Definitions of terms found in this announcement. These are non-bargaining unit positions. Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. You qualify for the GS-11 grade level if you possess one of the following: Experience: One (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-09 grade level or equivalent performing duties such as: Investigate: Supporting criminal investigations related to alleged or suspected violations of immigration laws, regulations, and policies; and performing investigative functions from planning and fact finding to reporting the results of an investigation. Identify and Locate: Identifying and locating aliens who may pose a threat to national security and/or public safety utilizing various methods and techniques which may include the use of actionable intelligence, use of surveillance systems and agency database systems or participation in the interview of witnesses or interrogation of suspects; and initiating removal proceedings. Arrest: Obtaining and serving criminal and civil warrants of arrest; participating in interagency law enforcement taskforce operations by providing support to senior officers; and initiating criminal and civil proceedings against immigration violators. Custody: Conducting legal research to support custody decisions; recommending custody determinations regarding detention of aliens; under the guidance of senior officers, performing initial review of legal proceedings to deport from the U.S. or release from custody; performing armed and/or unarmed escort of detainees from one facility to another or to country of origin ensuring sufficient documentation for transport; supervising and transporting detainees (including medical, court and prison pick-ups); and ensuring the safe, secure, and humane treatment of detainees while in custody. Prosecute: Performing initial review of case documentation to determine legal sufficiency for prosecutorial guidelines and reporting findings to senior officers; preparing criminal complaints, developing facts, gathering evidence, and assisting in the preparation of investigative reports in support of possible prosecution and/or civil action; and providing sworn testimony in Federal, state and local courts. Deportation: Performing initial review of case documentation for legal sufficiency determining if agency prosecutorial guidelines are met and reporting findings to senior officers; obtaining case history information for use in determining appropriate custody conditions in support of the adjudication and response to applications for immigration benefits; assisting in the planning, coordination, and execution of the deportation of alien detainees; and maintaining control of assigned aliens. Partnering: Performing detention responsibilities assuring appropriate detainee care (physical, mental, and civil rights); reporting findings of conditions observed in contracted state, local and private detention facilities to journeyman level officers and making recommendations for corrective action; and maintaining relationships with state and local law enforcement entities to share information and respond to inquiries. OR Education: A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M if related. (This education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university and demonstrate the skills necessary to do the work of the position. Check with your school or university to determine how many credit hours comprise three years of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 54 semester or 81 quarters hours.) OR Combining Education and Experience: A combination of successfully completion of graduate level education and experience. This will be calculated using your resume and unofficial transcripts or a list of courses/course hours submitted with your application. Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification. National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement. Physical Abilities Assessment (PAA): All applicants must pass the PAA prior to graduation from FLETC. The PAA consists of four parts: 1-Dynamic warn-up (non-scored); 2 – a 220-yard sprint in 47 seconds or less; 3 – an obstacle course in 1 minute and 30 seconds (1:30) or less; and 4 – a 1.5 mile run in 14 minutes (14:00) or less. Medical Requirements: This position has medical requirements. Click here for information about the medical process. You must complete a pre-employment medical examination and be found to meet the medical standards for this position. Training: Candidates selected will be required to attend and successfully complete the ERO Basic Immigration Law Enforcement Training Program located at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). DO training is approximately 71 days in duration, not including weekends and holidays. Candidates who have previously completed CBP Officer Basic Training Program, Border Patrol Agent Basic Training Program, HSI Special Agent Training Program, BIETP, DOTP, ICE-D, or equivalent, may be eligible to attend the Deportation Officer Transition Program (DOTP). NOTE: Employees who do not successfully complete basic immigration law enforcement training and are terminated from training are ineligible to return to the ERO Academy for training, unless selected as a law enforcement officer under a different vacancy announcement. In accordance to ERO Training policy 11158, no one will be permitted to attend more than two ERO Academy training sessions.

How to apply
Only resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Applicants with resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. To apply for this position, you must complete the Occupational Questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13079430, and USA Hire assessment and submit all the required documentation as specified in he HOW TO APPLY and the REQUIRED DOCUMENTS section. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English. We encourage you to apply online. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. The complete initial Application must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 12/31/2026. The vacancy questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions. This provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question. Please provide a response of 200 words or less to each question. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. You are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. PLEASE NOTE: If your materials are not received by the closing date, your application will be evaluated solely on the information available and you may not receive full consideration or may not be considered eligible. Also, if you do not provide a valid email address, you may not be notified of the outcome of your application. To begin your online application, click "Apply Online" to create a USAJOBS account and follow the prompts or log in to your existing account. Your application packet must include a completed assessment questionnaire, a resume, and any applicable and or required supporting documentation. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional information. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English. We encourage you to apply online. Applications and supporting documentation will not be accepted by mail or email. The address below is for inquiries only. You may apply more than once, but the most recent application is the only one that will be used. You must submit your resume, your online questionnaire, and any supporting documents by 11:59 PM eastern standard time on 12/31/2026. It is your responsibility to verify that any information entered or uploaded is received and is accurate. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. Determining your eligibility and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and information provided, which may impact your referral for further consideration. If a document is not legible, you will not be able to view it in your application. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information) One or more positions may be filled using this vacancy announcement. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.