As of November 1st, 2025, current estimates indicate that at least 15 million illegal aliens are residing in America. Trump was re-elected with a popular mandate in large part due to this issue, but his administration is struggling to follow up on the promises made of a million deportations a year, mainly due to a sheer lack of manpower. Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, has stated that ICE should be making a minimum of 3,000 arrests every day. The average number of arrests per day hovers around one-third of that number. And while there have been 1.6 million self-deportations so far, ICE is currently failing to hit its imposed number of enforced deportations, with only around 600,000 occurring in the past 11 months. Even if the trajectory continues, only around half of the illegal aliens residing in America will have been removed by 2028.
At the root of this anemic performance is an acute manpower strain across the entire United States immigration-enforcement apparatus. In the first 10 months of 2025, ICE received over 200,000 applications but issued only around 18,000 tentative job offers despite seriously revamping its recruitment campaign and training procedures. To address this manpower shortage, tens of thousands of Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) have been diverted from other important agencies to ICE to shore up the gaps. And these transplants are sorely needed, as only around 6,000 personnel are reported to be dedicated solely to ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), the critical frontline forces for facilitating removals. Concurrently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) still faces longstanding legacy staffing shortages and backlogs of vital administrative work that hinder its ability to process the influx of people entering the U.S.
Part of this lack of state capacity is due to the difficulty that DHS has faced in hiring suitable recruits. Reports have indicated that many prospective ICE applicants are unable to qualify due to physical limitations, despite basic fitness standards being relaxed. New orders require applicants to appear for their initial processing in running shoes to allow officials to assess basic fitness before they are sent on to the ICE academy, a measure against washouts further down the line that drive greater expense and lag to the program and mission. And this is only the most introductory phase; concerns remain that the background check system has also failed to properly screen recruits, with some found to have pending criminal charges, failed drug tests, or undisclosed media issues after training began.
It is not obvious that more qualified candidates are likely to join ICE over the coming years, at least not without significant cost to the taxpayer. It is reasonable to assume at this point that the most motivated candidates have already applied, while less motivated, but more qualified candidates are not incentivized enough despite the attractive and expensive compensation packages currently being promised. This shortage in capacity is, quite literally, an existential crisis for the country, the current administration, and the electoral future of any politicians who have made this issue a centerpiece of their campaign. The question for the American government is no longer “what will we do” but rather, “who will do it?”
It is this gap, between mandate and manpower, that requires policy intervention and innovative solutions. A wider net must be cast, one that also hauls in better applicants, if America is to regain control of its homeland.
The American Auxilia
History provides one intriguing alternative. For centuries, the Roman Auxilia served as the bulk of the empire’s fighting forces. The Auxilia were non-citizens who worked, fought, bled, and died alongside Romans in the hopes of one day becoming citizens themselves. These Auxilia forces were crucial to the rise and continued domination of the Roman Empire. Despite being non-citizens, the Auxilia had real “skin in the game,” and personified the idea of citizenship through service - the republican antidote to political cynicism. This is not a practice relegated solely to ancient times; the French Foreign Legion remains internationally famous for adopting a similar strategy, with the Legion representing over 10% of France’s Land Operational Forces. Ukraine also created the International Legion in 2022 at the start of its war with Russia, drawing volunteers from around the world who were committed to the cause of a country they were not citizens of. America, with its vast cultural empire and increasingly dire homeland security concerns, now has the opportunity to call upon its own waiting legions to restore domestic order while strengthening the cadre of like-minded talent abroad.
With this in mind, the Department of State should immediately seek to create a new visa category, the Allied Auxiliary Service (AUX) Visa. This visa would create an entry point for thousands of young, politically aligned, and highly motivated recruits to fill the manpower gaps currently limiting the effectiveness of ICE and USCIS. The Department of Homeland Security and other critical branches of the American government have, for the better part of a year, been propagandizing large portions of the world’s English-speaking, right-of-center population on X, with videos, memes, and bold statements often going massively viral. The intended audience for this content is clearly the American right, but a non-trivial number of able-bodied young men and women from select countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and various EU countries like Germany and Hungary, are watching intently and would like to get in on the action. This population, one that the American government already tacitly recognizes through its visas for South African farmers and reported considerations of asylum for persecuted “populists,” could be used to serve in non-armed roles both at home and abroad to help reverse the threat of illegal migration.
The criteria for such a visa could follow the following lines: Applicants must be between the ages of 20 and 40, speak proficient English, possess a college degree or, ideally, relevant experience in the military or law enforcement, possess a clean criminal record, undergo a thorough background check, and be able to pass both an introductory fitness test and a written test designed to evaluate both intellectual and ideological compatibility. These strict entry requirements serve as a secondary filter for applicants, the first being the willingness to apply for a potentially physically demanding role far from home.
Following acceptance, applicants would spend a few months in training at a dedicated AUX Academy, modeled after the existing ICE academy, hosted at an international American military base. Their curriculum would include generalized Western civics lessons, specific American civics lessons, physical training, and in-depth job preparation for designated roles. This would place applicants in a high-pressure environment with a high degree of patriotic sentiment—one that would stress-test both their ability to handle intense, potentially dangerous situations and their lasting commitment to American values. A military base on foreign soil would also serve as a backstop, filtering out unsuitable applicants before they set foot on the homeland, where removal becomes more complicated.
Following the successful completion of the program, applicants would be granted a one-year visa to enter either the American homeland or overseas American territories (including embassies, bases, or CBP pre-clearance facilities), depending on their role. This visa would be contingent on continued service, an absence of criminal or non-professional behavior, and meeting relevant performance metrics. After a year, the visa can be extended for two years, followed by two more years after that. At the end of this five-year-long term of service, applicants would face one of two options: either naturalization at the expense of renouncing their former citizenship or returning to their home country. The renunciation aspect of this path towards naturalization is key, as it serves as a filter for anyone who is not fully committed to the AUX program and to assimilating into American civic life. For the Roman Auxilia, the promise of citizenship was what drove them to safeguard the country they hoped to eventually join. Those who choose to return to their home country, either at the end of their five years or after honorably discharging at one of the two renewal periods, at one or three years of service, would receive preferred status for other American visas should they decide to return.
America still wins over the long run if participants in the AUX visa decide ultimately to return to their home countries. As Will Thibeau has already written for DARC, following on a piece in the Department of State’s Substack by Sam Samson, the resurrection of shared civilizational values within allied countries has become an American imperative. Returning AUX visa participants would bring well-honed skills in practical domestic security to allied nations, many of which are facing similar issues to America. It is an obvious benefit to America to have stable allies, whose governments are staffed by aligned, capable men and women who have a close relationship with America, its ideals, and with other AUX members who occupy various political positions across the broader West. The AUX visa opens up opportunities for America to create the changes it wants to see in its allies through the creation of a global community of alumni that share a similar outlook on national cohesion and security.
Impact Analysis
Of course, what is essential for establishing any visa pathway is understanding and communicating how the new immigrants it creates benefit the host country. Getting popular domestic support for bringing in ideologically aligned individuals from countries sharing a similar cultural bedrock should be relatively straightforward, considering how little pushback there has been for the already-mentioned South Africans and populist asylum seekers. The current administration is reportedly considering reducing the number of refugees allowed into the United States to as few as 7,500 in 2026, down from the previous cap of 125,000. The initial AUX cohort could bring this number even lower by focusing on specific and selective work visas, as opposed to more generalized refugee or asylum designations. America has also historically permitted non-citizens, such as green card holders, interpreters, and medical personnel, to enlist with the possibility of earning citizenship. Regardless of potential popular support or historical precedent, the success of this program should be quantified and measured, just as the success of each AUX applicant would be.
Even a simple analysis suggests the impact of the AUX visa could be significant. An initial trial cohort of 1,000 successful AUX applicants would have an immediate effect in the offices where they are placed. In 2023, USCIS processed more than 10 million cases with a workforce of slightly over 21,000. This translates to roughly 470 case-completions per staff member, and was before the current administration bestowed extra capacity and authority. Even if AUX forces are only half as effective in their first year, every 1,000 AUX visas could drive an additional 235,000 - 470,000 adjudications. Similar estimates can be made when considering their impact on ICE. In 2024 (again, before the current administration), ICE removed over 270,000 people with a workforce of around 20,000, or roughly 13.5 removals per staff member. If directed towards removals of illegal immigrants on American soil, 1,000 AUX could serve as a supplemental forces supporting the active teams of Americans working in ERO, helping facilitate over 13,000 more deportations (at worst creating a one-in-thirteen-out scheme, if you will) while relieving hundreds of citizens from less impactful “desk job” roles and getting Americans back into the frontline or re-establishing their own borders.
It is reasonable to assume that these numbers would be much higher, given the high quality of the candidates and the backing they would have from the current government. Successful AUX applicants could also be tasked with helping to bolster the domestic forces that are currently straining to maintain peace in several American cities. And, of course, eventually the recruits can help train new legions, limiting the strain on America’s already overburdened systems as successive cohorts are accepted. An initial, highly selective cohort of 1,000 top-tier AUX workers could be used as the scaffolding that facilitates the recruitment of thousands of new applicants over the following few years.
In addition to the immediate benefits to American culture and civic stability, there would be obvious benefits for American taxpayers. The easiest savings would be found in advertising. DHS is currently spending tens of millions of dollars every few months to drive recruitment in America. However, the advertising budget for AUX applicants is effectively zero, as they are already eagerly following the official Government social media accounts and unaffiliated-but-aligned podcasts that will broadcast the rallying call. It could be argued that these government accounts are already advertising to an international audience. AUX applicants could be paid at a level lower than domestic talent but higher than their native wages, given that the countries that would comprise the vast majority of the applicant pool all have lower average wages than America. The expensive recruitment packages that ICE has instituted to encourage new hires, such as a $50,000 sign-up bonus, would be irrelevant for these AUX visa holders, much like the now-unfavorable H-1B; being placed on the visa pathway is the actual incentive. The AUX visa would demonstrate that the same draw that was once used to recruit substandard talent at the expense of American workers could instead be utilized to benefit the country and its citizens.
Missionaries of Civic Order
This combination of ideologically aligned, fit, eager applicants that can be had on a discount should not be overlooked by the more nativist or isolationist members of the American right. Clearly, there is no shortage of work available for eager applicants, regardless of their citizenship status. The Auxilia would not be mercenaries, but missionaries of civic order. Through lawful service, they would turn the global surplus of Western talent into a concentrated force of renewal. Finally, AUX applicants who decide to naturalize at the end of their service would have already proven themselves to be of the highest standard in terms of education, physical fitness, and cultural compatibility; theirs would be a cohort of continued economic contribution throughout the rest of their lives as Americans, as the selection process would also filter out those without a high degree of physical fitness, education, and proven conscientiousness.
The AUX visa is a common-sense civilian visa policy proposal that could help fulfill the political mandate of the 2024 election: the American people demand that their government restore control of their increasingly disordered country, communities, and civic standards. It might not be an ideal solution, but the reality is that ICE needs to immediately increase its workforce if it is to fulfill the expectations set upon it. There is an abundance of ready and eager talent that can be put to use, which is being allowed to atrophy in other allied countries.
This visa could position America at the tip of the spear on a global challenge, leading the fight against what is becoming one of the biggest political, cultural, and security concerns of our time. We should not lose sight of the powerful political symbolism of AUX, one that leverages the dispossessed people of our allies to show that change, in this country and in theirs, is indeed possible.
As such, the AUX visa is a rare example of a clear win-win-win in public policy. America and its people stand to gain by accessing top-tier talent. The talent stands to win by gaining access to America. The countries from which this talent would be sourced stand to win by gaining access, down the line, to highly trained, civic-minded professionals. If America is to regain control of its homeland and lead the charge in resurrecting the West, it is time to call upon its waiting Auxilia.
