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A former ICE lawyer told lawmakers the agency’s training programme is ‘deficient’ and dangerously shortened amid a hiring surge under President Donald Trump. DHS denies cutting requirements, saying recruits receive full firearms and constitutional training, but critics allege oversight is minimal.
A former US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lawyer, who resigned earlier this month, on Monday (local time) said the agency's training programme was “deficient, defective, and broken," AP reported.
The former ICE lawyer, Ryan Schwank, who was responsible for training new deportation officers, came forward as a whistleblower and described the training programme as broken, with a pared-back curriculum. Schwank made these remarks at a forum held by congressional Democrats. His account comes at a time when the US President Donald Trump's administration is racing to expand the agency.
His remarks also coincided with the release by Senate Democrats of several dozen pages of internal ICE records that suggest the Trump administration has curbed the agency's basic training, The New York Times reported.
What did the whistleblower say?
Testifying during a hearing hosted by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Robert Garcia of California, Schwank said, "I am here because I am duty-bound to report the legally required training programme at the ICE academy is deficient, defective, and broken."
He also accused the agency of knocking down the training programme for new officers and lying about what they were doing. He said, "DHS told the public the new cadets receive all the training they need to perform their duties, that no critical material or standards have been cut. This is a lie. ICE made the programme shorter, and they removed so many essential parts that what remains is a dangerous husk.”
Dept of Homeland Security ramps up hiring for deportation officers
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reportedly rapidly increasing the number of deportation officers, with concerns being raised over the sacrifice of proper screening and training of those applicants to get them to the field hurriedly. DHS has denied cutting corners, claiming that the new deportation officers are trained with firearms, use-of-force policies, and how to arrest people safely.
The agency is currently facing intense scrutiny of the officers, who have been tasked with carrying out Trump's mass deportation agenda. Several critics, including rights groups and Democratic politicians, have accused ICE's deportation officers of using excessive force while arresting immigrants and attacking bystanders who record their conduct. They are also accused of failing to follow constitutional protections of people's rights, AP reported.
DHS denies removing training requirements for officers
According to the AP report, DHS has denied the removal of any training requirements or reducing them for newly appointed officers. Responding to an inquiry about the allegations levelled in the forum, DHS, on Monday (local time), said that ICE recruits get 56 days of training and 28 days of on-the-job training, on average.
DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis, in a statement, said, “Despite false claims from the media and sanctuary politicians, no training hours have been cut. Our officers receive extensive firearm training, are taught de-escalation tactics, and receive Fourth and Fifth Amendment comprehensive instruction.”
Disputing the claims of new officers receiving substantial training, Schwank said that oversight is minimal. Further, according to him, many graduates report to their assigned offices only briefly, just long enough to collect their gun, badge, and body armor, before they are put to work.
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