Progressive Politics

Tim is eyeing a career change. The 26-year-old has a full-time job with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Salt Lake City, but the pay isn’t enough. He recently spent a lot of money helping his husband, a Peruvian immigrant, settle in the U.S., so he’s looking for a higher salary.

Tim knows that federal agents are responsible for separating families under Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation push. But he thinks that’s a risk immigrants knowingly take living in the U.S. “You want to come here for a better life, but you gotta do it the hard way,” he said before submitting an application to join U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

To understand the motivation of those seeking to join the Trump administration’s violent anti-immigrant campaign, The Intercept spoke to applicants near the parking lot outside. Prospects ran the gamut from college students seeking debt relief to those parroting white nationalist talking points. Many supported the administration’s hard-line approach to immigration, or were convinced that whatever ethical quibbles they might have with current immigration enforcement could be separated from the job itself. Most job-seekers agreed to speak on the condition that only their first name would be published.