The ICE FROST Act establishes supplemental pay for immigration enforcement personnel, including hazardous duty bonuses for service in high-risk areas, and imposes a new surcharge on certain international money transfers to fund these payments.
W. Steube
Representative
FL-17
The ICE FROST Act establishes significant supplemental pay, including a 25% base payment and an additional 15% hazardous duty supplement, for immigration enforcement personnel serving in high-risk areas. To fund these increased compensation measures, the bill imposes a new surcharge on certain international remittance transfers based on the destination country's risk profile. This legislation aims to increase retention and compensate officers operating in challenging enforcement theaters.
ICE FROST Act Proposes 25% Pay Boost for Immigration Officers and New Fees Up to $298 on International Money Transfers
The ICE FROST Act aims to overhaul the compensation structure for federal immigration officers while simultaneously hiking the cost of sending money abroad. Under the proposed rules, every law enforcement officer involved in identifying, detaining, or removing undocumented individuals would receive a mandatory annual lump-sum payment equal to 25 percent of their base salary. For an officer earning a $60,000 base salary, this translates to a $15,000 annual bonus. To fund these changes or influence migration patterns, the bill introduces aggressive new surcharges on remittance transfers—the money people send to family or business partners in other countries—on top of existing taxes.
Hazard Pay in the City
The bill goes a step further for officers working in specific urban centers. It automatically designates nine major metro areas—including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and D.C.—as 'hazardous duty areas.' Officers in these zones get an additional 15 percent pay bump on top of the 25 percent base supplement. This means a total 40 percent annual bonus for working in these cities. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is also given broad authority to add more cities to this list based on factors like local crime rates or the concentration of 'aliens unlawfully present.' For a tech worker in San Jose or a contractor in Detroit, this effectively means the federal agents operating in their neighborhoods are receiving significantly higher compensation packages than peers in other regions.
The Cost of Sending Money Home
If you regularly use services like Western Union or digital apps to send money to relatives abroad, this bill could hit your wallet hard. Section 3 adds a flat surcharge to international transfers based on the destination. If you are sending money to one of twelve specified countries—including Haiti, Sudan, or Yemen—you will pay a $199 surcharge per transfer. If the recipient is in a country with a visa overstay rate higher than 2 percent, the fee is $99. If both conditions apply, the fee jumps to $298. These fees are added to the existing 1 percent tax, meaning a simple $500 transfer to a family member in a high-overstay country could suddenly cost over $600 just to process.
Broad Powers and Pocketbook Impacts
The bill grants the executive branch significant discretion in how these rules play out. The OPM Director, alongside the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General, can designate new hazardous areas based on 'any other factor' they consider a risk. This lack of a strict definition means the map of high-pay zones could shift frequently. Meanwhile, the economic burden falls squarely on immigrant communities and those with international ties. While the bill aims to improve officer retention and morale by exempting these bonuses from standard federal pay caps, the trade-off is a direct and substantial increase in the cost of living for residents who support families across borders.