ICE plans to scrap shortened training program for new immigration officers
Source: Washington Post
May 6, 2026 at 1:40 p.m. EDT
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing to return to a longer training program for new deportation officers, two Department of Homeland Security officials said Wednesday, restoring previous standards after dramatically shortening the instruction period for recruits last year.
The reduced training period drew criticism from Democrats and former federal law enforcement officials, who questioned whether recruits were being rushed on to the job without adequate preparation at a time when the Trump administration is seeking to detain and deport record numbers of undocumented migrants.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who took over from Kristi L. Noem in late March, has pledged to restore public confidence in the massive law enforcement agency after widespread outrage over the fatal shootings by immigration and border officers of two U.S. citizens during enforcement operations in Minneapolis in January. Starting July 1, ICE is reverting to 72 days of instruction at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, scrapping a 42-day accelerated program implemented last fall.
The change is taking place because the agency has completed a hiring surge that more than doubled the number of immigration officers to 22,000, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning. In a statement Wednesday, DHS did not confirm the return to a longer training period, instead repeating past assertions that authorities did not water down instruction last year.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/05/06/ice-training-recruits-immigration-mullin-trump/
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