ICE to Re‑implement Full Training for New Deportation Officers

Thu Jun 04 2026 18:13:44 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The department announces a return to the original 42‑day training schedule after criticism of a shortened program.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is set to bring new recruits back under the full 42‑day training regimen starting July 1, after questions arose over a temporary 72‑day schedule. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the agency had altered curriculum to streamline hiring but maintained that no essential hours had been cut. A former ICE lawyer warned that the accelerated training left recruits under‑prepared. ICE officials point to added days and new modules as improvements, while critics argue the changes compromise officer readiness.

WASHINGTON — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will return to its original 42‑day training program for new officers starting July 1, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Wednesday at a congressional hearing that critics had called the agency’s temporary 72‑day schedule a shortcut.

Mullin explained that the department had been asked to shorten training to meet a demand for an additional 10,000 deportation officers funded by Congress. He added that the curriculum had been rewritten and would go back to “regular standards.” The Senate hearing interrupted a debate on changing the training requirement, with reporters noting that the agency had been “loosening standards.”

ICE officials say the changes were a “streamlining” effort, not a “watering down.” Acting director Todd Lyons confirmed that the agency had boosted training to six days a week and added sessions before and after recruits arrive, though he denied cutting total hours. The department also ousted a Spanish‑language requirement, citing a shift in the workforce.

A former ICE lawyer, Ryan Schwank, called the new program “deficient, defective and broken.” In a forum hosted by Democrats he accused the agency of shortening training and misrepresenting its integrity. Schwank warned that the shortened program left new officers ill‑prepared for field work.

In response to Schwank’s testimony, Homeland Security said recruits receive firearms training, de‑escalation tactics, and instruction on constitutional obligations, and that training hours had not been cut. The agency maintains that the changes improve readiness without compromising standards.

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