The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is being accused of hiring new deportation agents without completing basic screening steps, according to a complaint of irregularities filed by a retired employee who worked in the agency's background verification division. The whistleblower, whose identity was omitted, worked at ICE for 17 years and was unit chief in the Office of Professional Responsibility.
According to the complaint, ICE's human resources division would be making definitive job offers before preliminary verification steps are completed, including fingerprint collection, confirmation of candidates' identities, and credit analysis. In a memo sent to the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security in August 2025, the employee classified the change as an unprecedented reduction in security standards.
Currently, ICE has approximately 6,500 deportation agents and plans to expand that workforce by another 10,000 professionals by the end of the year. The expansion is part of the Trump administration's effort to intensify immigrant arrests and deportations, with a $75 billion allocation approved by Congress and a $50,000 signing bonus for new hires.
An Associated Press investigation identified cases of newly hired individuals who had serious financial problems in their histories, had been accused of misconduct in previous jobs, or had irregular professional backgrounds. ICE stated that the whistleblower no longer works for the agency.
