Immigration enforcement agencies had nearly 10 times as many staff as labor standards agencies in 2025. The gap will widen in 2026, even without new DHS funding.: Annual full-time equivalent staffing levels at immigration and labor standards enforcement agencies, 2012–2025
| Immigration enforcement | Immigration enforcement (projected) | 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 | |
| 2022 | 81,689 | 9,292 | |
| 2023 | 84,914 | 9,894 | |
| 2024 | 87,953 | 9,789 | |
| 2025 | 90,748 | 90,748 | 9,411 |
| 2026 | 110,748 |

Notes: The number of full-time equivalent staff reflects totals for the U.S. government’s fiscal year (October 1 to September 30). Immigration enforcement total for 2026 is projected based on reports of hiring goals for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
Notes: The number of full-time equivalent staff reflects totals for the U.S. government’s fiscal year (October 1 to September 30). Immigration enforcement total for 2026 is projected based on reports of hiring goals for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 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 2025 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.
Source: EPI analysis of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, DHS Budget, Budget-in-Brief and Congressional Budget Justification for Fiscal Years 2012–2026; U.S. Department of Labor, Fiscal Year 2026—Department of Labor, Budget in Brief and Archived Budgets, fiscal years 2012–2025...
Sources: EPI analysis of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, DHS Budget, Budget-in-Brief and Congressional Budget Justification for Fiscal Years 2012–2026; U.S. Department of Labor, Fiscal Year 2026—Department of Labor, Budget in Brief and Archived Budgets, fiscal years 2012–2025; National Mediation Board, Congressional Justifications, fiscal years 2014–2026; National Labor Relations Board, Performance Budget Justification, fiscal years 2012–2026; and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, DHS Budget, Budget-in-Brief and Congressional Budget Justification for Fiscal Years 2012–2026. Fiscal year 2026 projections include estimates on new hiring for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2026 from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on X.com, January 5, 2026, and various reports on hiring for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, for example, FedAgent.com, "DHS Readies for Funding Surge After 'Big Beautiful Bill' Passage," July 10, 2026.
This chart appears in:
- Threatening migrants and shortchanging workers: Immigration is the government’s top federal law enforcement priority, while labor standards enforcement agencies are starved for funding and too understaffed to adequately protect workers
- Costa charts for Senate testimony 2023 in order DO NOT USE
- Testimony prepared for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary for a hearing on ‘From Farm to Table, Immigrant Workers Get the Job Done’
Previous chart: « Number of federal wage and hour investigators is at a historic low: Number of Wage and Hour Division investigators, U.S. Department of Labor, 1973–2025