A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The Department of Homeland Security held a career fair in Provo, Utah, last week. It was the first agencywide recruitment fair since Congress approved billions of dollars for hiring. The Trump administration wants to boost the numbers of Immigration and Customs officers, but many at the job fair were looking for other positions in the federal government. NPR's immigration policy and Homeland Security reporter Ximena Bustillo has the story.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: The Homeland Security Department has been in the spotlight for leading President Trump's immigration agenda. But the agency, which was created following the September 11 terrorist attacks, is bringing in potential employees for more than just immigration enforcement.
JACOB LOPEZ: Federal Protective Services, Air Marshals and Secret Service hopefully.
AN TI: Interest about, like, USAID and then TSA.
MADELEINE: I was applying for Secret Service.
BUSTILLO: Those were Jacob Lopez (ph), An Ti (ph) and Madeleine (ph) from Texas, who declined to give me her last name since she applied for a job. The expo took place near several universities, so students came by curious about what jobs they might be able to get when they graduate. Myan Beaumont (ph) applied for ICE because they recently lowered the age requirements from 21 to 18, but she's not sure if it's the right fit.
MYAN BEAUMONT: I'm going to be so honest. I don't see myself in ICE. It was more of just a job opportunity. But I see more myself as, like, police officer, border patrol, maybe something that's not as aggressive, I guess, as ICE.
BUSTILLO: Many people told me that they wanted to be deportation officers. And the presence of the agency drew a small group of protesters. Natasha Grossman (ph) was one of them.
NATASHA GROSSMAN: The cops did let me know that not everybody is part - here for ICE. A part of why I feel like it's not entirely wrong is if you're willing to join this government right now, like, where this country is going right now, then it's just as bad as if you were in ICE.
BUSTILLO: But some applicants thought they could do work to help immigrants. Here's Wendell (ph), who declined to provide his last name since he applied for a job with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
WENDELL: I just need to help people that are trying to come into the United States. Look at their applications and stuff to help them with how to fill it out and stuff like that.
BUSTILLO: Other applicants wanted to do criminal investigations not related to immigration, administrative work or work with dogs and horses. Applicants said that they were told it could be up to 13 months before they are hired.
Ximena Bustillo, NPR News, Provo.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE AMERICAN DOLLAR'S "HIGH SUNSET") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
