Who works for Trump’s ICE? Criticism of training is loud

The US Department of Homeland Security has so far avoided questions about the fatal incident. Pretti approached US border guards with a 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol and “violently resisted” their attempts to disarm, it said in a statement. The officers responded with “defensive shots.”

An explanation that is not one – and which brings back sad memories. Not a month seems to go by without reports of violent incidents related to it Donald Trumps ICE.

Criticism of the suitability of ICE officers

Anger at the US President’s excessive and violent deportation policy is growing, and protests against ICE broke out again in Minnesota over the weekend. Those too Criticism of the training and qualifications of the officials, who have become the enemy on the streets of the nation, have been at the latest since the death of the civilian Renee Good always louder.

ICE stands for the authority United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is the largest police and customs agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), based in Washington, DC And: It has been since Beginning of Trump’s second term grown enormouslythe number of employees has increased dramatically. Background is one DHS recruitment drive. We were (and still are) looking for “qualified patriotic Americans across the country.” Since the beginning of 2025, the number of civil servants has increased from 10,000 to 22,000 more than doubled.

This large increase raises some questions – for example about the suitability of the applicants. Because: The Training time for a job with the ICE, as part of the said recruitment campaign, the age range was 16 only 8 weeks (or to 47 days – because Trump is the 47th president, according to an – albeit unconfirmed – explanation) as several US media outlets said reported. The level of training The number of newly recruited officials was therefore cut. The accusation is that it has fatal consequences.

Not surprisingly, the requirement to learn Spanish was completely removed from the training – despite the fact that most illegal immigrants in the USA speak Spanish. Instead, other qualifications are now in the foreground. “Citizenship, physical fitness, background checks and, for certain tasks, law enforcement training or experience,” U.S. Attorney Melissa Hamilton explains German wave.

Previous convictions and drug offenses

Quantity instead of quality now seems to be the credo. NBC News approximately already reported in the fallthat new recruits began the ICE training program without first going through the officially required examination process. It was only discovered afterwards that some of them had criminal records; one man was even said to have been charged with robbery and domestic violence.

Others failed drug tests or did not meet the physical or academic requirements, according to two former Department of Homeland Security officials NBC declarations.

All of these points would disqualify recruits from working for ICE. But the apparatus must grow to accommodate Trump’s deportation wishes, and ideally as quickly as possible. Since the beginning of the hiring wave, ICE has had to release more than 200 new recruits during training because they Did not meet recruitment requirements.

“There is absolutely concern that some applicants will slip through,” a current DHS official said NBC. He also explained that many of the problems identified during training only became apparent because recruits eventually admitted that they not fingerprinted prior to arrival or had not taken drug tests. “What about those who don’t admit it?”

DHS sees criticism as unfounded

The Department of Homeland Security also has explanations for this. Opposite NBC News It was emphasized that most of the new recruits are former police officers and former ICE officers who are going through a different process. “The numbers you are referring to are not accurate and reflect a subset of candidates in initial foundation courses at the academy,” stressed DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.

“The vast majority of new officers hired during the hiring wave are experienced police officers who have successfully completed police school. This group is expected to make up more than 85 percent of new hires. Applicants with prior service will go through a streamlined validationbut are still subject to medical, fitness and background requirements.”

But: According to sources, ICE’s human resources office is the one NBC overloaded with more than 150,000 new applicants since the introduction of Hiring bonuses of $50,000 in August. The personnel office now speed up the testing of new recruitswhich leads to errors. “They’re trying to funnel everyone through, and the vetting process is not what it should be,” a former DHS official with knowledge of the hiring process told the station.

Family of shot civilian: “Disgusting lies”

Back to the Alex Pretti case: There are already numerous videos circulating on the Internet that raise strong doubts about the government’s official self-defense claim. The 37-year-old’s parents accuse ICE officers of killing their son for no legitimate reason. Pretti’s parents emphasized that their son – who worked as a nurse – did not pose a threat to officers.

“The vile lies that the government is spreading about our son are reprehensible and disgusting,” said the family in a statement carried by several US media outlets. “Alex is clearly not holding a gun as he is attacked by Trump’s murderous and cowardly ICE thugs.”

European governments are also speaking out with harsh criticism. The German deputy government spokesman Sebastian Hille On Monday in Berlin, he expressed the expectation “that the case will be quickly investigated and resolved in accordance with the rule of law.” The Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani accused US immigration authorities of “abuse”.