Pete Hegseth Is Pushing Defense Employees to Volunteer With DHS

The defense secretary has made clear that Pentagon managers are to encourage workers, including civilians, to volunteer to assist in the administration's immigration crackdown.

The Department of Defense is putting more pressure on employees to volunteer to support the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration crackdown.

In a February 19 memo sent to civilians across the DoD, secretary of defense Pete Hegseth wrote that he expects “every supervisor to encourage their civilian employees to volunteer. Leadership must continue to promote this detail program and educate their civilian employees on its importance.” The memo, which was titled “Department of War Guidance to Encourage Support to the Department of Homeland Security Southern Border and Internal Immigration Enforcement Missions,” was sent to thousands of civilian DoD employees. The memo was first reported by GovExec and was also viewed by WIRED.

The instructions follow a June 2025 memo in which Hegseth authorized civilian ...