ICE agent brags about amount he earns to protesters

An ICE agent has been caught on camera bragging about the amount of money he allegedly made amid heightening tensions across the US.

Social strife in Donald Trump's America remains on a knife-edge after the Republican leader's promised crackdowns on illegal immigration have led to widespread civil unrest.

The impact of his divisive policy has been felt the most in Minnesota's state capital, Minneapolis, where Renee Good and Alex Pretti were both shot and killed by ICE and border enforcement agents within the past month.

Good and Pretti's deaths have emboldened demonstrators across the city, while the Trump administration has doubled down on its support of ICE raids and claimed that both Pretti and Good were killed in self-defence.

Now, an ICE agent has been caught on camera bragging about the salary he allegedly makes during a tense confrontation filmed by bystanders.

In the clip, which has been widely shared on X, the officer - whose face is covered by a mask and sunglasses - appears to threaten passersby near a protest, telling them 'I don't care what they told you, if you guys get in my way, we’ll arrest you', to which the person filming then responds: "Sir, we're just observing please calm down."

The man then makes a dig at the agent, adding: "You got anger issues as a kid, didn't you? Were your parents present? You should be ashamed of yourself, man."

This comment riles the officer up even more, with the footage then capturing the man pacing back and forth before declaring that he loved his job and would happily do it for free.

"I love my job. I can't believe I get paid for this. I would do it for free," he said.

A woman off-camera then interjects to say she gets paid $200k (£146k) as a physician's assistant, to which he then claims to get paid the same, despite only finishing high school.

"I went to high school, I get 200K," he said.

Watch the interaction below:

How much do ICE agents earn?

The man's claims have since led to speculation about how much ICE agents actually earn and if it's even close to the $200k figure.

According to a recent report from the BBC, an ICE agent can make anywhere between $49,739 (£36,360) and $89,528 (£65,446) each year, depending on qualifications and experience. Which is significantly short of the $200k mark claimed by the man.

However, the Trump administration has recently introduced a number of incentives to join the force, which include a recruitment bonus of up to $50,000 (£37,700) as well as a student loan and overtime payments in a bid to increase numbers.