Trump Administration Axes Fast-Track Training for New ICE Recruits

The Trump administration is abandoning the accelerated training program it used to quickly deploy the thousands of new Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents hired in recent months, according to two administration officials and another person close to the agency.

In addition to doing away with the streamlined training, the Department of Homeland Security plans to certify and dispatch veteran officers to the field to give those hired under the fast-track program additional instruction, said the two administration officials, who, like others in this report, were granted anonymity to discuss internal plans.

The training curriculum is still being finalized, and the administration’s draft plan could change.

DHS has denied that it reduced training levels for its deportation officers, regardless of when they were hired. But Democrats and whistleblowers have said that new deportation officers hired with funding from last year’s GOP megalaw went through a streamlined training program of roughly six to eight weeks, down from the 72-day basic training program recruits received before last summer.

The change is the latest example of the Trump administration recalibrating its hard-line approach to immigration enforcement in the wake of widespread political blowback and declining support for ICE — as well as President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration. Beyond practical adjustments like training, DHS has also softened its immigration message and made a slew of leadership changes at the agency in the wake of former DHS head Kristi Noem’s ouster.

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The agency is also working to broadly revise and bolster its training protocols for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, the branch of the agency responsible for arresting, detaining and deporting unauthorized immigrants, said the first administration official, who added that this will include improving how the agency conducts on-the-job training. ICE plans to station the certified officers at the field offices, where their primary job responsibility will be to serve as a training point person for future hires — with the goal of ensuring consistent standards across the country.

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DHS has repeatedly denied reports that any ICE training requirements were removed, even as the agency has acknowledged the truncated timeline. In a February press release, DHS said recruits receive 56 days of training and an average of 28 days of on-the-job training, and the agency claimed that “no training requirements have been removed.” DHS said training increased from five days a week, eight hours a day, to six days a week, 12 hours a day.

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