On February 23, Ryan Schwank, a former ICE lawyer responsible for training new agents, came forward to describe the training program which he stated is “deficient, defective and broken”. Schwank repeatedly emphasized that vital hours of training time have been cut, leaving new deportation officers inexperienced and inadequately trained. In fact, The Washington Post claimed, “ICE last year removed about 240 hours from its basic training program, or more than 40 percent of instructional time.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refuted these statements and Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated, “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.”
Kristi’s Noem, the department’s secretary, backed these claims in a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing stating, “[our officers] are annually trained and updated with legal guidance, constitutional provisions, de-escalation techniques, driving techniques, medical aid intervening, use of force.” Though shortly after this discussion, it was announced, on March 5, that President Trump would replace Noem as the DHS’ secretary and that she would resign from all duties starting March 31. She is to be a special envoy, or a diplomatic representative appointed by a government official, of the Shield of the America’s. This position is still tied to ICE initiatives and works to combat drug cartels and illegal immigration across the western hemisphere.
However, despite these claims, Schwank revealed that this simply isn’t true and that training hasn’t changed. He stated, “ICE made the program shorter, and they removed so many essential parts that what remains is a dangerous husk.” Significant cuts such as eliminating 3/4 of the hours spent on firearm training and the removal of 100 hours from hands-on instruction. Schwank mentioned that these cuts were so notable that “even in the final days of training, the cadets cannot demonstrate a solid grasp of the tactics or the law required to perform their jobs.”
This news comes amid the DHS move to increase the number of ICE officers in order to meet President Trump’s mass deportation initiative. Recently, the legality of ICE procedures has been a topic of controversy across the nation, with many citing their extreme use of force and disregard of individual protections stated in the constitution. Though, despite this information, there has yet to be any comments from any current agents within the program to shed more light on the rapidly changing ICE training program.
