Refuse to Be the Boot: Why You Should Never Join ICE or CBP — No Matter the Paycheck
“The line between good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties — but right through every human heart.”
— Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
In today’s America, the state is offering you a deal:
A badge. A gun. A steady paycheck.
Join ICE or CBP, they say, and you’ll have benefits, job security, and power.
But the truth is simple:
No amount of money is worth selling your soul.
This is a moral call — an ethical alarm — and a plea for conscience.
Do not work for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or CBP (Customs and Border Protection).
Do not support them, enable them, or allow yourself to be used by them.
🧊 ICE and CBP Aren’t Just “Doing a Job” — They’re Doing Harm
Despite all the government branding and security-state messaging, the function of ICE and CBP today is not safety — it is cruelty. Their role has become synonymous with:
Putting toddlers and teenagers in cages
Separating children from their parents — some never reunited
Detaining asylum seekers fleeing violence and war
Deporting people into life-threatening conditions
Enforcing laws that target the poor, not the powerful
Inflicting psychological trauma on families and communities
These are not isolated mistakes. These are deliberate patterns.
And the government — desperate to keep the machine running — is trying to make you a part of it.
💰 “But the Pay Is Good” — At What Cost?
Yes, ICE and CBP jobs offer:
Salaries starting around $50,000 to $80,000+
Government benefits, healthcare, and pensions
Job stability in an uncertain economy
But ask yourself: What are you being paid to do?
To arrest people fleeing poverty and war?
To turn trauma into paperwork?
To enforce laws you know are unjust?
To be the reason a mother cries herself to sleep in a detention cell?
You’re not just trading time for money. You’re trading your humanity for a paycheck.
And one day, when the headlines change and the institutions fall, the job title won’t protect you — only your integrity will.
Your children and grandchildren will ask you what you did during this era. Will you say you took the money — or made a stand?
🧲 The Government Is Trying to Recruit You — Don’t Take the Bait
Facing mass resignations and public outrage, the Department of Homeland Security is ramping up recruitment for ICE and CBP:
Military-style ads
Career fair appearances
College campus outreach
Promises of “making a difference” or “defending America”
But this is propaganda. These jobs do not protect people. They punish the most vulnerable.
They don’t make you a hero. They turn you into an enforcer for a system of racialized cruelty.
You are not needed to guard the border. You are needed to guard your soul.
🚫 Choose Refusal: Don’t Work, Don’t Apply, Don’t Comply
We need a national and personal boycott of ICE and CBP. This means:
Do not apply for ICE or CBP jobs.
Do not assist or subcontract for them.
Do not rent housing, sell equipment, or provide services to them.
Do not stay silent when they recruit on your campus or in your community.
This isn’t just about employment. This is about withholding consent — refusing to be the hand that slams the cage shut.
🤝 Seek Work That Heals, Not Harms
The urge for stability and income is real — and valid. But there are thousands of paths that allow you to serve others, build a career, and sleep at night knowing you did no harm.
Here are just a few examples:
💼 Public Service with Integrity
Public defender’s offices
Legal aid for immigrants
Government watchdogs and accountability agencies
City departments focused on housing, food security, and education
👩🏽⚕️ Humanitarian Work
Health clinics, harm reduction, and mental health work
Refugee and asylum support NGOs
Disaster relief and trauma recovery
Teachers in underserved areas
🧑🏾💻 Ethical Tech and Research
Anti-surveillance initiatives
Privacy-rights software development
Digital security for at-risk communities
🚀 Community Empowerment
Tenant organizing
Workers’ rights campaigns
Climate justice organizations
Food sovereignty and mutual aid networks
These jobs may not have federal pensions — but they build real safety, not terror.
📣 Be Clear: This Is a Moral Line in the Sand
This is the time to choose. Neutrality is no longer an option.
The government is investing billions to keep ICE and CBP running — but they cannot function without you.
You are not powerless. You are crucial. If thousands refuse to work for these agencies, their ability to operate grinds to a halt.
You do not have to be the weapon. You can be the refusal.
✊ Be the Resistance, Not the Enforcement
In the future, we will look back at this time the way we now look back at Japanese internment, Jim Crow policing, or the mass deportations under Operation Wetback.
Some will say:
"I had to pay the bills."
Others will say:
"I refused."
Be the second.
🛑 ICE and CBP Want Your Labor — Don't Give It to Them.
No matter what the paycheck is. No matter what uniform they offer you. No matter how good the benefits sound.
You are not just taking a job.
You are enabling cruelty.
There is no ethical way to cage a child.
There is no moral paycheck for separating families.
There is no dignity in detaining desperate people who did nothing wrong.
Don’t join them. Don’t help them. Don’t stay silent.
Choose justice.
Choose humanity.
Choose refusal.