In 2021, immigration enforcement agencies had eight times as many staff as labor standards agencies: Annual full-time equivalent staffing levels at immigration and labor standards enforcement agencies, 2012–2021

Immigration enforcement Labor standards enforcement
2012 81,127 12,288
2013 79,373 12,297
2014 80,228 11,918
2015 78,669 11,744
2016 78,585 11,465
2017 77,845 11,188
2018 78,645 10,419
2019 81,112 10,843
2020 83,689 9,669
2021 78,938 9,337

Notes: The number of full-time equivalent staff reflects totals for the U.S. government’s fiscal year (October 1 to September 30).

Notes: The number of full-time equivalent staff reflects totals for the U.S. government’s fiscal year (October 1 to September 30). The immigration enforcement staffing total for 2012 includes personnel at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program. Immigration enforcement staffing totals for 2013 to 2018 include staff at CBP and ICE. Immigration enforcement totals for 2019 to 2021 include staff at CBP, ICE, and the Office of Biometric Identity Management. Totals for labor standards enforcement include appropriations for all subagencies, administrations, and offices of the U.S. Department of Labor considers for “worker protection” in budget documents, including the Employee Benefits Security Administration, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Wage and Hour Division, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Office of Labor-Management Standards, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the Office of the Solicitor, in addition to two other agencies not within the Department of Labor: the National Labor Relations Board and the National Mediation Board.

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Fiscal Year 2023—Department of Labor, Budget in Brief and Archived Budgets, fiscal years 2012–2022; National Mediation Board, Congressional Justifications, fiscal years 2014–2023; National Labor Relations Board, Performance Budget Justification, fiscal years 2012–2023; and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, DHS Budget, Congressional Budget Justification for Fiscal Years 2012–2023.

View the underlying data on epi.org.