What are the OPM 2026 special rate tables released after agency consultation and which ICE job series are covered?
Executive summary
OPM released 2026 special rate tables after consulting with agencies and approved them with a tentative effective date of January 11, 2026, and those tables include new special-rate coverage for certain law‑enforcement personnel (published on OPM’s site) [1] [2] [3]. Public reporting and OPM material show that at least one special-rate table explicitly lists Department of Homeland Security coverage that includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) positions, and reporting identifies ICE special agents and deportation inspectors among roles called out for special‑rate treatment [4] [5].
1. Release timing and how the special rates were approved
OPM’s guidance explains the agency consulted with federal departments and anticipates issuing special rate tables by the end of the calendar year, approving them to be effective on the first pay period after January 1, 2026 (identified as January 11, 2026 on OPM payroll timing guidance) [1] [2] [6]. The special rates were implemented under the President’s alternative pay plan and OPM’s special‑rate authority to address recruitment and retention problems in occupations where non‑Federal pay or working conditions create shortages [1] [2].
2. Which special‑rate tables were published and where to find them
OPM published the full set of 2026 special‑rate tables and an index by occupation on opm.gov, with a searchable Special Rates page and an index that maps occupation to table number for 2026 [3] [7] [8]. Reporting and OPM fact sheets note examples of table numbers appearing in pay examples (for instance Table 0238 in OPM examples), and OPM’s Special Rates portal is the authoritative source to identify every table and its covered occupations and localities [9] [3].
3. Which ICE job series are specifically identified as covered
Public reporting and a specialty pay breakdown identify ICE law‑enforcement roles among those covered: OPM’s Special Rate Table L018 is cited in reporting as explicitly listing DHS coverage that includes ICE positions, and news summaries and pay‑guide reporting single out ICE special agents/criminal investigators (the GS‑1811 series) and deportation inspectors as examples of ICE job series that qualify for special‑rate adjustments in 2026 [4] [5]. Sources indicate the 1811 criminal investigator/agent series is a primary example of ICE positions benefitting from special rates and related law‑enforcement pay authorities [4].
4. How these special rates interact with other law‑enforcement pay elements
Special rates are intended to raise base pay above standard locality schedules where recruitment/retention problems exist, and OPM has separately published law‑enforcement pay adjustments such as the Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) or a law‑enforcement special adjustment (news reporting describes a 2.8 percent law‑enforcement boost layered on a 1 percent across‑the‑board base increase for total law‑enforcement adjustments in some accounts) — meaning eligible ICE roles may see special‑rate increases combined with statutory LEO pay supplements where applicable [4] [5] [2]. OPM also notes that locality pay was frozen at 2025 levels under the alternative pay plan, so special rates and statutory LEO supplements are the mechanisms used to target additional increases [1] [5].
5. Politics, agency advocacy, and the stated rationale
OPM and agency consultation framed the special rates as responses to localized recruitment and retention pressures—higher non‑Federal pay, remoteness, or undesirability of work—while the broader pay decision was tied to the President’s alternative pay plan directing a 1 percent base increase and special‑rate action for law enforcement [1] [2]. Coverage of ICE positions in the L018 table and related writeups reflects agency requests and OPM’s review; observers and union advocates have emphasized retention issues in front‑line enforcement roles as the rationale, while critics may view targeted boosts as politically sensitive given broader pay‑freeze choices for locality rates [4] [2].
6. Limits of available reporting and where to verify details
The public sources reviewed confirm the timing, the publication mechanism, OPM site locations, and that Table L018 lists DHS/ICE coverage and that ICE 1811 special agents and deportation inspectors are cited as covered roles, but a complete, authoritative list of every special‑rate table number and every ICE occupational series covered should be verified directly on OPM’s Special Rates pages and the 2026 index by occupation because the secondary reporting samples a subset of tables and examples rather than reproducing the entire government table set [3] [7] [4].