ICE recruitment ads in Seattle target law enforcement

The federal government is airing commercials on cable television to entice Seattle law enforcement officers to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The advertisements from the Department of Homeland Security began airing on local affiliates last week, including KING 5 and KOMO 4 in Seattle. The advertising campaign is targeting so-called sanctuary cities” like Los Angeles and Chicago. The ad is also airing on streaming services.

“Attention Seattle law enforcement,” the ad states. “You took an oath to protect and serve, to keep your family, your city safe. But in sanctuary cities, you’re ordered to stand down while dangerous illegals walk free.”

The ad touts that hired applicants could receive a signing bonus up to $50,000 and student loan repayment.

Mayor Bruce Harrell released a statement on Tuesday that the recruitment campaign uses “misstatements of both law and fact” and insults Seattle law enforcement officers.

“We are not going to compromise our high standards for law enforcement when the Trump administration tries to bully us into violating our own laws and values,” Harrell said in the statement.

The Trump administration has continually stated so-called “sanctuary cities” like Seattle are breaking federal law by having legal protections for people in the country illegally.

In Washington, state law mandates that local police agencies do not take part in immigration enforcement. Local law enforcement cannot ask about someone’s immigration status unless it is relevant to a criminal investigation, and they also cannot arrest or detain someone solely to determine their immigration status.

The act also prevents local police agencies and jails from holding someone so they can be taken into federal custody, unless federal officials have a warrant or court order.

Last month, the state Department of Licensing revoked ICE access to a data search system after learning the federal agency used the database to get information about a Kirkland man targeted for deportation. As the Seattle Police Department is poised to expand the use of police surveillance cameras, residents have expressed concern that the Trump administration will be able to access the system to persecute immigrants.

In a statement on Tuesday, Seattle City Council member Bob Kettle, who chairs the public safety committee, said he was “incredibly concerned” by the agency’s attempt to sway local officers.

“This behavior by federal government is unacceptable and directly undermines our local public safety progress,” Kettle’s statement said. “The new ICE recruitment video was created simply to promote a false narrative and weaken our Seattle values. We will not let that happen.

The Seattle Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In April, the department stated it was aiming to hire 200 new officers by the end of 2025 after hundreds of officers retired or quit since the pandemic and summer 2020 protests, bringing the department to historic lows. The department has recruited through social media; shifted to electronic background testing; reduced the wait time in half for new hires to get an offer; and offered signing bonuses as high as $50,000 and competitive starting salaries above $100,000.

Harrell’s proposed 2026 budget also includes more than $40 million in additional spending for the Police Department, the largest general fund budget increase for any city department.

The ICE recruitment spree comes as the Department of Homeland Security aims to hire at least 10,000 agents by the end of the year, waiving age limits for new applicants and offering more robust incentives. At a recent Texas job fair, ICE made nearly 700 conditional offers, according to the New York Times. The Trump administration’s aggressive online recruitment efforts have relied on nationalist and white supremacist imagery and language, according to historians recently interviewed by CNN.