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Friday, 24 April 2026
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United States·Human Rights

ICE hiring spree draws recruits with troubled backgrounds, investigation finds

Friday, 17 April 2026, 16:12 · 1 min read

A rapid expansion of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — the federal agency tasked with carrying out the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda — has resulted in the hiring of officers with problematic records, an Associated Press investigation has found. Among those recruited during a drive to hire 12,000 new officers and double the agency's workforce are individuals with multiple bankruptcies, a history of jumping between six law enforcement jobs in three years, and an officer who faced a misconduct lawsuit alleging he fabricated a police report to justify a felony charge against an innocent woman, resulting in a $75,000 settlement. Experts warn that cutting corners on vetting — accelerated by a $75 billion congressional windfall and signing bonuses of up to $50,000 — raises serious risks of abuse of power, and the Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged that some recruits received job offers and began working before their full background checks were completed.

Sources
The GuardianICE’s hiring spree led to influx of recruits with questionable qualifications, investigation shows ↗︎
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