For nearly a year, concerns that ICE agents aren’t being properly trained under President Donald Trump has sparked fear in Americans everywhere. Now, following multiple ICE-involved shootings, a recent report has confirmed the worst is true.
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Trump’s “Defend the Homeland” crusade to hire historic amounts of new agents led to an 120 percent manpower increase– the biggest recruitment boast in the agency’s 23-year history, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Now, this rush of new blood pumping through ICE has led to hundreds of field agents never getting the proper legal or firearms training before hitting the streets.
ICE applicants are split between two categories: those with law enforcement backgrounds and those without. The first group is often expedited through the training process, only having to undergo four weeks of online training. Applicants with no experience endure a full eight weeks of in-person training, according to immigration enforcement.
The agency uses an AI tool to scan resumes and group applicants accordingly. But recently, an error led to officers with zero training being rushed through the process, sources told NBC News. A DHS spokesperson labeled the mistake a “technological snag” which only impacted 200 hires. The spokesperson told NBC no candidate was sent out without “appropriate training and credentials.”
Other federal and state officials across the country go through more extensive training processes compared to ICE. National Guard trainees complete 10 weeks of basic training, and even Secret Service members go through an 18-week training camp before receiving a badge.
Considering ICE’s original mission was to stop, detain or arrest people suspected of being undocumented with a signed judicial warrant, eight weeks of training worked for the agency for over two decades. Now, however, the Trump administration tasked ICE with a more robust responsibility: deliver justice by raiding sanctuary cities and capturing suspects by any means necessary.
With Trump’s rush to pump out ICE agents as fast as possible– even offering new recruits $50,000 signing bonuses– a journalist took the bait and exposed just how easy it was for her to apply, interview and be hired by ICE.
Laura Jedeed, an anti-Trump reporter at Slate, set up an experiment– fudging her resume and emphasizing her military background– in order to land an interview to become an agent. She reportedly met with a recruiting officer who asked only her name, date of birth and age, whether she had any law enforcement or military experience and why she left the service.
No one conducted a background check to see her well-documented history as an anti-Trump writer. She’s even on AntifaWatch, “a right-wing website that lists alleged members of the supposed domestic terror organization,” Jedeed explained.
In the end, she was hired. “Somehow, despite never submitting any of the paperwork they sent me – not the background check or identification info, not the domestic violence affidavit, none of it – ICE had apparently offered me a job,” Jedeed said. The journalist was even told “the goal is to put as many guns and badges out in the field as possible.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration insists all ICE officers have been properly vetted and trained, including Jonathan Ross, who continues to face scrutiny after shooting an American citizen in Minneapolis.
After the killing of Renee Good and other ICE-involved violence in 2026, some Republicans are calling for more training of agents. W.V. Sen. Jim Justice said, “The more training they could have, the better it’ll be, because they’re dealing with some strange stuff going on that’s coming at them in a lot of different directions.”
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