Almost anyone can be an ICE agent now. That's a problem.

[pnwmom]

Traditionally, ICE recruits deploy after a four-month training course covering immigration and constitutional law, firearms and driving. But these protocols are changing amid a historic deportation surge and scramble to hire officers.

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Controversy over the new recruitment approach flared after NBC News reported that some ICE recruits reached the training academy before fingerprinting, drug tests or background checks were completed.

Authorities have also cut academy time for recruits without prior law enforcement experience, from 16 to eight weeks. Among other changes, ICE scrapped a requirement that recruits complete a five-week basic Spanish course, even though at least two-thirds of the 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States are from Spanish-speaking countries. Instead, ICE recruits now rely on translation apps, which can introduce delays and confusion during stressful encounters.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2025/12/03/ice-hiring-border-patrol-jobs-immigration-agents/87483770007/