FIRST ON FOX: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) saw more than 20,000 applicants in less than two weeks for "Homeland Defender" roles as the Department of Homeland Security ramps up their hiring campaign.

The recruitment campaign at USCIS began Sept. 30, and sources at the agency say a hiring campaign of this scale has never been done before.

"I am thrilled with the tremendous response we have received from fiercely dedicated, America-first patriots who want to serve as Homeland Defenders," USCIS Director Joseph Edlow told Fox News Digital.

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"In mere days, more than 20,000 Americans have stepped forward, ready to serve on the frontlines to protect our nation’s sovereignty and restore integrity to our immigration system after four disastrous years of failed Biden administration immigration policies," Edlow explained to Fox. "These applicants are not just candidates—they are guardians of our values, prepared to defend our homeland. We look forward to bringing on this group soon."

The role of a Homeland Defender is to determine whether legal migrants are eligible for green cards, extended visas, or citizenship. Homeland Defenders were previously titled "Immigration Services Officer," though the position was rebranded under the Trump administration. 

14,021 applications were submitted to the USCIS Service Center Operations Directorate and 8,627 applications were submitted to the USCIS Field Operations Directorate. 

The USCIS website touts a potential $50,000 signing bonus, remote work, and no college degree required. 

Fox News Digital exclusively reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recruiting also saw a massive uptick in applications, hitting 141,000 in early Sept.

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Immigration officers across various agencies under DHS have faced scrutiny and security threats by protestors and Democrats alike. 

Secretary Kristi Noem said that ICE agents "are now facing a 1000% increase in assaults against them as they risk their lives to arrest the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens" in August.

The Trump Administration’s recent deployment of agents to Chicago has been widely criticized by Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker, and has faced some legal challenges as ICE officers make arrests.

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U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings, a Biden-appointed judge, tightened ICE’s ability to make warrantless arrests in a Chicago federal court on Tuesday. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to send National Guardsmen to rein in the city’s violent crime amid ICE agent deployment, a move which could also face legal hurdles.

As of late Sept., DHS said that 1.6 million illegal immigrants have been voluntarily self-deported, while 400,000 were removed by federal law enforcement.

"The Trump administration is on pace to shatter historic records and deport nearly 600,000 illegal aliens by the end of President Donald Trump’s first year since returning to office," the agency said in a statement.

Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather criticized CBS News on Thursday for making journalist Bari Weiss its editor-in-chief, as well as acquiring her independent news outlet, "The Free Press."

Rather, age 93, argued on his Substack page that the hiring of the anti-woke reporter, as well as CBS coming under the control of billionaire David Ellison – whose father is a friend of President Donald Trump – meant that CBS News will be catering to the Trump agenda. 

"The American people will pay the price for this move, as will the journalists of CBS News who can no longer credibly serve as watchdogs because the ones they are meant to hold to account are signing their paychecks and hobnobbing with the president," the veteran journalist wrote.

At one point, he warned, "It is a dark day in the halls of CBS News."

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CBS’ parent company, Paramount, named Weiss the editor-in-chief of CBS News on Monday following the company’s acquisition of "The Free Press" for $150 million. The move angered liberal journalists and media figures, as Weiss’ outlet has made waves for challenging DEI, gender ideology, and supporting Israel.

Rather questioned Weiss’ credentials.

"The former opinion writer for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times is not a reporter. She has never worked in television news and she has never led a staff larger than a few dozen," Rather wrote. "That all changed this week when David Ellison, whose Skydance Media recently acquired CBS, installed Weiss in a position created for her. She will not report to the president of CBS News — as one might expect — but to David Ellison directly."

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The former CBS anchor also addressed Weiss’ recent statement that she wants to combat illiberalism on both the right and left in her new role, criticizing her for going after both sides when one side has Trump.

"While one must keep an open mind, it is hard to do so when such a statement portends a push for ‘bothsidesism’ and arguments reliant on false equivalences. There can be no equivalences drawn between the two political extremes in this country, especially when one extreme is led by a man who rarely speaks without lying."

Weiss’ hiring comes months after Paramount’s merger with Skydance that resulted in Ellison, the former Skydance CEO, being named CEO of the new joint company. In addition to being close to Trump, Ellison’s father, Larry, is a pro-Israel tech mogul worth around $300 billion.

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Rather continued, saying that the deal and hiring of Weiss are "signals to everyone, especially to the man in the Oval Office, that CBS is no longer independent, but under the tutelage of a conservative billionaire who is putting more than his thumb on the scale."

"Anything that runs afoul of Trump’s agenda may be flagged and is unlikely to be aired unaltered, if aired at all. No journalist or their work can remain unaffected by toiling in such an environment," he said.

"It is a dark day in the halls of CBS News, where the portraits of television news pioneers once hung — Cronkite, Murrow, Sevareid, Collingwood. They were journalists who made television a trusted source of information. Whom and what are we to believe today?" Rather asked.

Rather stepped down from his role as "CBS Evening News" anchor in 2005 and left the network the following year after reporting a discredited story about then-President George W. Bush.

CBS News declined to comment on this story. Fox News Digital also reached out to Paramount. 

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