San Francisco Frontiers - Latinos, ex-military, retirees -- ICE hopefuls answer Uncle Sam's call

John Wolworth drove eight hours from neighboring Colorado, and was desperate to sign up to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"I'm here to defend my country," he said.

"Our borders are a big deal, our culture is a big deal and we have a right, as a people, to uphold that culture," the 33-year-old told AFP.

An unemployed former soldier, Wolworth had with him his resume, a nursing diploma, army medals, a certificate of proficiency in shooting, and another in jujitsu.

"I think I have the right profile," he said. "As men, it is almost in our DNA to rise to the occasion."

With his "Big, Beautiful Bill," Trump allocated $170 billion to border protection and the fight against illegal immigration.

ICE, the federal agency tasked with carrying out the mass deportations the Republican promised on the election campaign trail, is one of the major beneficiaries of this extra cash, and says it wants to recruit 10,000 additional agents.

- 'We need YOU' -

The Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part, has begun holding recruitment fairs like the one in Provo all across the United States.

On ICE's website, the WWI-era figure of Uncle Sam issues an urgent plea to potential recruits: "America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out."

The muscular rhetoric results in a crowd that slants heavily male, but runs across age groups.

"We finally have a president who wants to make America great again, so this is why I'm here," said a man in his 60s, who did not want to give his name.

While perhaps the majority of those lining up for the recruitment fair were white men, the crowd also included a significant number of African-American and Hispanic candidates.

Allan Marquez is an employee of a private security company who works in a prison where ICE regularly brings detainees.

The mass deportations promised by Trump "are necessary," said the 29-year-old American, who added that his Mexican grandparents immigrated legally to the United States decades earlier.

"It's part of the job of keeping the nation safe," he said.

Eddie -- who did not want to give his full name --is also of Mexican descent and acknowledged qualms about the raids carried out by ICE this summer around Los Angeles.

Footage showed masked agents bumrushing hardware stores, car washes and farms, in what appeared to be a sweep of anyone Hispanic. ICE officials said they were targeted actions.

Official figures show the majority of those arrested by ICE had no criminal record.

- Attractive bonus -

Eddie said as a former child protective services officer, he hoped to be able to bring some humanity to the role of ICE agent.

"I come from a Hispanic background, but it's a job that has to be done. So I'd rather do it myself, to make sure that they're treated properly, even though they're getting deported," he said.

The 33-year-old, who is from Texas, admitted he has some concern about the explosive growth of ICE, which has shortened its mandatory training period by several weeks.

But he was also attracted by the idea of "a stable job, with good benefits."

ICE is offering a bonus of $10,000 per year for recruits who work for five years, along with a guaranteed government salary, healthcare and other benefits.

"I'd be lying if I said that doesn't factor in my motivations," said Walter Campbell, a former Marine.

The 26-year-old added that he believed "immigration has been a huge issue in this country for 30 plus years" driving down American wages.

He said he was unmoved by the handful of protestors who told him "don't sell your soul to the Gestapo."

Trump's electoral win means his deportation campaign has "a mandate from the people," he tells them.

To critics who say the agency is unselectively going after anyone who looks Hispanic, or who is speaking Spanish -- including a number of US citizens who have been swept up -- Campbell insists these are teething problems.

"You're going to have misfires, especially when you're doing anything on this scale," he said. "No one said that this is going to be the cleanest job in the world."

E.Jones--SFF