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.

“We’re actually doing something good here,” said the first administration official. “ICE is actually taking this very seriously, and it’s not just lip service.”

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.

The White House referred a request for comment to DHS. A DHS spokesperson said ICE training doesn’t end when recruits leave the training academy, and that officers go through “rigorous on-the-job training and mentorship” that is “tracked online and monitored closely.” The spokesperson pointed to the existing model at ICE field offices, which relies on senior officials to “mentor, coach, and train agents and officers.”

“This additional training is tracked online and monitored closely,” the spokesperson said. “New hires take what they learn at [Federal Law Enforcement Training Center] and apply it to real-life scenarios while on duty, preserving ICE’s reputation as one of the most elite law enforcement agencies not only in the U.S., but the entire world.”

Bipartisan concerns about inadequate training standards for immigration agents hired during last year’s blitz have persisted on Capitol Hill, and the changes could mollify some of those critics. The shift stems from conversations acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and border czar Tom Homan had with lawmakers during funding negotiations, according to the first administration official and two people familiar with the talks.

“Lyons and Homan promised some people on the Hill that they would take a look at it,” said the first administration official, who added that the officers hired in recent months will get the “extra 30 days of training they didn’t get before they started on the job.”

Lawmakers and the administration discussed requiring additional training for immigration agents, but the administration wanted to make it a handshake agreement rather than enshrining it into law as Democrats wanted, according to the two people familiar with the talks. According to the first person familiar with the talks, the White House made a legislative text offer that ultimately did not make it into the DHS bill after negotiations unraveled without a deal.

“It was something Homan wanted to fix anyways that seemed like an easy thing everyone could get behind,” the second person familiar with the talks with the Hill said about the administration’s desire for an informal agreement.

The intense debate over policy changes demanded by Democrats spurred a 76-day DHS shutdown, which was finally resolved last week. Though the shutdown is over, Democrats and the White House failed to reach agreement on a number of policy issues, including a prohibition on masking and a requirement that federal law enforcement officials obtain a judicial warrant before entering private property.

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.

“The meat of the training was never removed,” Lyons said during a hearing in February, when lawmakers pushed him about the training requirements.

But in February, Ryan Schwank, a former ICE instructor who educated new recruits on proper use of force before resigning this year, testified during a hearing organized by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Robert Garcia of California that the basic training program was now “deficient, defective, and broken.” In conjunction with whistleblower testimony, Democrats released internal agency documents including a July 2025 training syllabus showing 584 hours of training over 72 days, compared to a February 2026 training syllabus showing approximately 336 hours of training over 42 days.

“For the last five months, I watched ICE dismantle the training program,” Schwank said during the hearing. “Cutting 240 hours of vital classes from a 584-hour program — classes that teach the Constitution, our legal system, firearms training, the use of force, lawful arrests, proper detention and the limits of officers’ authority.”

Eric Bazail-Eimil contributed to this report.