What is the total number of ICE agents hired in 2024?

1. The direct answer — what the sources actually say about 2024 hires

None of the supplied items provides a definitive count titled “ICE agents hired in 2024,” so a direct numeric answer cannot be extracted from these documents with confidence; the available reporting instead documents a later, large-scale hiring surge that added about 12,000 officers and agents in under a year and expanded ICE’s force from roughly 10,000 to more than 22,000 ^{[1] [2] [4]}, but those statements do not isolate hires that occurred within calendar year 2024 specifically ^[1].

2. The dominant narrative: a 12,000‑person surge that doubled ICE’s size

Multiple DHS and media releases describe an unprecedented recruitment campaign that drew more than 220,000 applicants and resulted in “more than 12,000” new officers and agents—language used by DHS and repeated in outlets like Newsweek, Military.com, and Government Executive—claiming the workforce grew from about 10,000 to roughly 22,000, a roughly 120 percent increase ^{[1] [5] [6] [4]}.

3. Contradictions and independent checks that complicate the headline figure

At least one independent data check disputes the 12,000 figure: a federal workforce database review reported by NOTUS found lower hiring tallies—one cited figure lists 7,114 employees hired since the start of the administration—creating a significant discrepancy between agency claims and public personnel records ^[3]. That discrepancy illustrates how different data sources (DHS press releases vs. federal workforce databases) can produce divergent counts depending on classification of hires, timing, and whether mission‑support staff or attorneys are included ^{[7] [3]}.

4. Why counting “agents hired in 2024” is harder than it sounds

The difficulty stems from definitional and timing issues in the available reporting: media and DHS statements aggregate hires over a campaign period that straddles multiple calendar years and often group “officers, criminal investigators, attorneys and mission support staff” together rather than isolating sworn ICE agents or separating hires by calendar year ^{[7] [1]}. Federal budget and workforce documents cite different baseline headcounts and projected position increases—for example, ICE’s FY 2024 budget referenced an increase of 985 positions in a different context—underscoring that formal budgeted positions, onboarded hires, and public recruitment tallies are three distinct measures ^[8].

5. What a reasonable reader can conclude from the supplied reporting

Given the supplied material, the most supportable conclusion is that there is no single, verifiable number in these sources for “ICE agents hired in 2024” alone; the reporting instead documents a later mass-hiring effort that added roughly 11,000–12,000 personnel and drove ICE’s overall officer/agent ranks to about 22,000 according to DHS and several media outlets, while at least one federal database review reports materially fewer onboardings, leaving the calendar‑year‑2024 count indeterminate from these sources ^{[1] [2] [4] [3]}.

6. Where the evidence is thin and what would resolve it

To resolve the question authoritatively would require a time‑stamped personnel breakdown from OPM or DHS showing hires by calendar year and job classification (e.g., sworn deportation officers vs. mission support), or an ICE/OHC dataset reconciling press statements with OPM headcounts; none of the supplied items provides that granular, year‑specific roster, so any single numeric claim about hires strictly in 2024 would overreach the available evidence ^{[3] [8]}.