ICE Whistleblower: Training for Agents Cut to ‘Dangerous’ Level

A former US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lawyer responsible for training new deportation officers warned Monday that the agency’s program for preparing recruits is “deficient, defective, and broken.” Ryan Schwank made the comments during a forum organized by congressional Democrats, amid growing scrutiny of officers tasked with enforcing President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies, according to the AP.

Critics—including civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers—have accused deportation officers of using excessive force during arrests, targeting bystanders who record their actions, and disregarding constitutional protections for individuals.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been rapidly increasing the number of deportation officers, sparking concerns that the push to staff the force could come at the expense of thorough screening and training. DHS, however, insisted that new officers receive training on firearms, use-of-force policies, and safe arrest procedures.

Schwank testified at a hearing hosted by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Robert Robert Garcia of California. Blumenthal’s office said Schwank resigned from ICE on February 13. “I am here because I am duty-bound to report the legally required training program at the ICE academy is deficient, defective, and broken,” Schwank said. He also accused DHS of dismantling the training program for new officers and misrepresenting its practices.

Blumenthal’s office noted that Schwank was one of two anonymous whistleblowers who previously revealed a new ICE policy allowing deportation officers to enter immigrants’ homes forcibly without a judge-signed warrant. The office also released dozens of pages of documents showing “drastic cuts” to how new officers are trained and evaluated, including reductions in exams, required classes, and total training hours. “The training has been truncated and reduced, both in numbers of courses and substantive policy,” Blumenthal said at the hearing’s start.

DHS maintains that ICE recruits receive 56 days of classroom training and an average of 28 days of on-the-job training. Schwank disputed the claim, saying supervision in the field is minimal. Many recruits reportedly go to their home offices just long enough to “get their gun, their badge, and their body armor.”

During the forum, Schwank was asked whether he had seen recruits use disproportionate force during training. He said it had happened multiple times, citing incidents where trainees accidentally drew firearms on each other, arrested people without cause, or applied excessive force—yet still graduated from the academy.

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