A Minneapolis woman was shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while in her car on January 7, sparking scrutiny of Trump-era training requirements.
On CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, U.S. Democratic Sen. Mark Warner told anchor Jake Tapper that the Trump administration has expanded the hiring of ICE agents while reducing training hours for ICE agents.
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“Remember, we are strengthening ICE, adding 10,000 more agents,” Warner said. “They don’t have the traditional five months of training. Literally, Jake, the training for ICE officers is now 47 days. Why 47 days? Because Donald Trump is the 47th president.”
He also used the numbers Thursday when speaking to liberal commentators and on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday.
Days after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good, other lawmakers, social media posts, and journalists echoed the same words.
The Trump administration acknowledged to multiple media outlets that it had shortened the training period for immigration officials, taking issue with some of the media’s reporting and refusing to answer subsequent questions. Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to PolitiFact’s inquiries. It could not be confirmed whether the training days were related to Trump’s status as the 47th president.
Ross had been a deportation officer for the agency since 2015, which meant he was subject to earlier and longer training standards, the Associated Press reported.
Warner did not respond to PolitiFact, but said on CNN that the investigation into Goode’s murder needs to be completed before people can reach any conclusions.
When Tapper pointed out to Warner that the ICE officer who shot Good had “at least 10 years of experience,” Warner said, “That’s true, and that’s why there should be an investigation.”
Training was shortened, but reports vary on its duration
The training points come from an August article in The Atlantic, “Immigration and Customs Expedited Response.” Reporter Nick Miloff, citing three unnamed officials, wrote that training for new deportation officials has been shortened from about five months to 47 days.
“Administration has cut that time by approximately half, including by eliminating Spanish language courses,” the report states. “Academy training has been shortened to 47 days, three officials said, a number chosen because Trump is the 47th president. DHS officials said training will be conducted six days a week for eight weeks.”
A DHS spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that the Atlantic report is “false” because the training is eight weeks long. The Examiner article cited Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons as approving an eight-week training schedule with six work days per week, resulting in 48 training days.
The Frequently Asked Questions page on ICE’s career website reflects an outdated training schedule, saying new deportation officers complete nearly five months of training, including five weeks of language training and 16 weeks of law enforcement training.
The Associated Press reported in August that authorities had “reduced the Spanish language requirement to shorten the training by five weeks,” citing Caleb Vitello, who runs ICE training. Vitello told The Associated Press that the reduced Spanish language training will be supplemented with translation technology services.
Media outlets and government officials have reported that training times in recent months have been shorter than 48 days.
An anonymous DHS official told NBC News in October that ICE initially shortened the training from 13 weeks to eight weeks, then again to six weeks. Government Executive, a news organization that covers federal agencies, reported on January 5 that DHS has shortened training for ICE officers from six months to “approximately six weeks.”
Since the Minneapolis shooting, DHS has not provided clarity on training for new police officers. “Training to become a force removal officer is eight weeks,” a senior DHS official told People magazine on January 8, declining to specify the number of days.
“Officials did not immediately respond to People’s requests for clarification, as the eight-week period is consistent with what The Atlantic previously reported,” the newspaper reported.
The officer who shot Good had 10 years of experience and had undergone additional training.
Ross, who has worked at ICE for 10 years, would have followed the previous 16-week training schedule and five-week language program.
Ross also received specialized training after being selected for ICE’s Special Response Team, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told The Associated Press.
Before becoming an ICE officer, Ross served in the Indiana National Guard and was deployed to Iraq. He also worked as a field agent for the Border Patrol.
our verdict
Warner said immigration officers “are not getting the traditional five-month training… ICE officers’ training is now 47 days.”
News outlets and Homeland Security officials reported that the length of ICE training was shortened during President Trump’s second term, from about five months to eight weeks, six days a week. This amounts to 48 days of training in 56 days. (The connection to Trump’s status as the 47th president is beyond the scope of this fact-check.) Ross, the ICE officer who shot and killed Good, had been with the agency for about 10 years.
Two media outlets subsequently reported that the training period had been further shortened to about six weeks. Spokespeople for DHS and ICE did not respond to requests for confirmation.
Overall, training time for ICE officers has been significantly reduced to or near the time period cited by Warner. Although this statement is accurate, it requires clarification, so we rate it “Mostly true.”
