The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) needs more than 10,000 additional employees to combat illegal immigration, US President Donald Trump said, government sources said, The Washington Post reports.

Also, ICE is currently looking at about 300 facilities across the country to accommodate new employees.

As per Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE has already received more than 150,000 respective applications, of which 18,000 have been pre-selected.

According to public data, ICE is currently hiring about 22,000 people.

ICE operates more than 200 immigration detention centers in the US.

On July 4, President Trump signed a spending bill that allocates $45 billion to expand immigration detention capacity.

Trump has repeatedly advocated for stricter immigration policies in the US. Shortly after taking office, he signed an executive order declaring a national emergency along the Mexico border.

The president has said he intends to carry out the largest deportation operation of illegal immigrants in American history.