Since Day 1, Secretary Noem, President Trump Have Enhanced Federal Law Enforcement Training, Equipped ICE To Keep the Public Safe and Arrests the Worst of the Worst

ICE debunks the lies and rumors about ICE training

WASHINGTON – Under President Donald Trump and the United States Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and agents rank among the world’s most skilled and experienced law enforcement who undergo rigorous training and preparation before going out into the field.

“Our officers are the best of the best. Every single day, they put their lives on the line to arrest some of the worst criminals on the planet – including terrorists and drug cartel sicarios – while fighting back against swarms of violent rioters,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Despite these attacks and the massive risks they take on, our officers and agents conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism and exhibit an enormous amount of restraint.” 

All new ICE basic students must attend the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) where they learn essential skills, from de-escalation and conflict management, to firearms, to necessary driving skills. Every agency that trains at FLETC – including ICE – benefits from a collaborative environment, realistic training venues where high standards are the norm, and professionalism is paramount.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is providing FLETC with $750 million, more than doubling its annual resources, to enhance the training and readiness of U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and ICE personnel.

In fact, FLETC developed the framework and capacity to train 11,000 ICE officers and agents by December 31, 2025. As a result of FLETC’s innovation, DHS has streamlined training to cut redundancy and incorporate technology advancements, without sacrificing basic subject matter content. Under these new improvements, candidates still learn the same elements and meet the same high standards ICE has always required.

In addition, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) candidates receive more than 100 days of specialized training. Standard training for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) candidates is 42 days. These training courses, run by seasoned officers, focus on essential skills like:

• Arrest Techniques, where students are trained to safely detain suspects during law enforcement encounters;
• Defensive Tactics, where students learn how to safely protect themselves and others during potentially violent encounters;
• Conflict management and de-escalation techniques;
• Extensive firearms and marksmanship training;
• Multiple classes dedicated to use of force policy and the proper use of force;
• And much more.

Those who join ICE’s Special Response Teams (SRT) undergo even more intensive and rigorous training, including:

• 30 hours of tryouts just to be considered;
• An SRT Basic Operator Course;
• Continuous and ongoing training in several specialized skills, including breaching techniques, perimeter control, advanced firearms training, hostage rescue, and more;
• Maintaining an expert marksman qualification on all issued firearms.

Their training does not end when recruits graduate from the academy. ICE officers go through a rigorous on-the-job training and mentorship. This additional training is tracked online and monitored closely. New hires take what they learn at FLETC 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.

Yet, mendacious politicians and the mainstream media continue to smear ICE officers, lying to the American people, and falsely claiming that they are untrained for the job at hand. These types of smears and lies are only stoking fear and division and are leading directly to the more than1,300% increase in assaults against ICE officers, the more than 3,200% increase in vehicle attacks against them, and the more than 8,000% increase in death threats against them.

Despite the smears and hatred being stoked against ICE, recruitment has skyrocketed in the last year. ICE has received over 220,000 applications and has already hired 12,000 new ICE agents.

Each day, ICE officers arrest and deport the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens and get them off American streets. 70% of illegal aliens arrested by ICE have criminal records. In President Trump’s first year, the Department of Homeland Security deported more than 675,000 illegal aliens, and more than 2.2 million illegal aliens have self-deported.

That enormous success is a testament to the professionalism and efficiency of the training that the men and women of ICE and other federal law enforcement agencies receive.

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