ICE

ICE Reportedly Lowered Its Standards To Meet Trump's Hiring Goal

Trump has criticized DEI initiatives for lowering hiring standards. A whistleblower now says ICE did that on purpose.

Joe Lancaster | 9.3.2026 2:20 PM

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When President Donald Trump ran for reelection, one of his consistent campaign promises involved illegal immigration. "On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out," he pledged.

One of the efforts made to accomplish this goal was staffing up. With a big boost in funding, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made a big hiring pitch, spending millions of dollars on fancy new trucks and SUVs and offering potential recruits high starting salaries and signing bonuses up to $50,000. In January of this year, ICE bragged that in just a few months, it had more than doubled its ranks, from 10,000 to 22,000 officers and agents.

Of course, this raises questions about the hiring process: Did the government cut corners, either in vetting or training these new recruits? It appears that a whistleblower within ICE raised concerns even at the time.

"In the wake of a hiring surge last summer, an official in charge of evaluating new recruits to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a dire warning," Alexandra Berzon, Katie Benner, and Hamed Aleaziz reported this week at The New York Times. "The Trump........

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