Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced that ICE will increase the training for new officers starting July 1st, bringing it back up to 'regular standards.' That's good news for protestors who clamored for better training and higher recruitment standards when civilians started dying at the hands of ICE agents.
Under former Director Kristi Noem training requirement for new recruits went from 72 to 42 days as she sped up the training to hire and train an additional 10,000 deportation officers to help with President Donald Trump's massive deportation plans.
Then Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen fatally shot by an ICE officer during a protest in Minneapolis, as was Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and ICU nurse. Ruben Ray Martinez: A 23-year-old U.S. citizen was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Texas, and Keith Porter Jr. who shot and killed by an off-duty ICE agent outside his apartment in Los Angeles.
Many loudly alleged the deaths were caused by cutting corners in training and recruitment, which Homeland Security and ICE denied. Still, Mullin said during a congressional hearing this week, "We had to rewrite the curriculum. All training starting July 1st will be back up to the regular standards,” Mullin said.
The AP reported he did not address criticism of the training schedule or comment on why it was being changed now.
Former ICE lawyer Ryan Schwank had openly criticized the training program, calling it "deficient, defective, and broken," accusing the department of dismantling the program and lying about it.
“DHS told the public the new cadets receive all the training they need to perform their duties, that no critical material or standards have been cut,” he said. “This is a lie. ICE made the program shorter, and they removed so many essential parts that what remains is a dangerous husk.”
During her tenure, Noem repeatedly refuted claims of inadequate training, claiming that recruits were receiving proper firearms training, de-escalation tactics, and instruction on the Constitution.
In January, the government responded to criticism of the training, saying, "Our officers are the best of the best. Every single day, they put their lives on the line to arrest some of the worst criminals on the planet – including terrorists and drug cartel sicarios – while fighting back against swarms of violent rioters.
“Despite these attacks and the massive risks they take on, our officers and agents conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism and exhibit an enormous amount of restraint.”
They added that all new ICE basic students attended the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) where they learned essential skills, "from de-escalation and conflict management, to firearms, to necessary driving skills. Every agency that trains at FLETC – including ICE – benefits from a collaborative environment, realistic training venues where high standards are the norm, and professionalism is paramount."
