Immigration and Customs Enforcement has enrolled new recruits in its training program before completing the agency's vetting process to implement the Trump administration's deportation of illegal immigrants, NBC News reported on Thursday.
The outlet spoke with both current and former Homeland Security officials who warned that expediting the hiring of federal immigration officers without proper background checks marks a deviation from standard procedures undertaken at the agency.
Sources told NBC News that only later did ICE learn some recruits had failed drug tests, possessed disqualifying criminal records, or did not meet the physical or academic standards for service.
ICE training staff in Brunswick, Georgia, recently discovered that a recruit had past robbery and domestic violence charges and also found that some trainees had not completed required fingerprint background checks, according to sources.
According to internal ICE data reviewed by the outlet, the agency has dismissed more than 200 new hires, with the majority let go for failing to meet fitness or academic standards. Fewer than 10 were dismissed for past criminal or drug charges that should have been flagged in routine background checks.
Officials warned that the Trump administration's goal of 10,000 new ICE agents by the end of the calendar year has resulted in hiring candidates that would typically have been flagged under previous standards.
"There is absolutely concern that some people are slipping through the cracks," a current DHS official said, adding that it was only because recruits admitted they didn't receive fingerprinting or drug testing before they arrived that they were flagged. "What about the ones who don't admit it?" the official asked.
A report earlier this week in The Atlantic said that more than one-third of new ICE recruits could not pass basic fitness requirements, which include completing at least 15 push-ups, 32 sit-ups, and a 1.5-mile run in under 14 minutes.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin dismissed the findings saying that the figures "are not accurate."
"The vast majority of new officers brought on during the hiring surge are experienced law enforcement officers who have already successfully completed a law enforcement academy," McLaughlin said in a statement. "This population is expected to account for greater than 85% of new hires.
"Prior-service hires follow streamlined validation but remain subject to medical, fitness, and background requirements."
Multiple sources said the agency's recruitment office has been overwhelmed with more than 150,000 new applicants since a $50,000 signing bonus was announced in August.
The effort to fast-track new recruits is leading to mistakes, sources told the outlet.
"They are trying to push everyone through, and the vetting process is not what it should be," a former DHS official said.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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