U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will step up its training for new officers and add more instruction for those already hired under an expedited hiring process after getting backlash, according to a new report.
CBS News reported that the shortened hiring process ICE had used to rapidly increase its ranks as part of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts has been scrapped.
The administration had boasted in January of this year that it had more than doubled ICE agents in the previous year, increasing the number from 10,000 to 22,000.
"The good news is that thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill that President Trump signed, we have an additional 12,000 ICE officers and agents on the ground across the country," Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said at the time. "That's a 120% increase in our workforce. And that's in just about four months."
As part of that effort, ICE had curtailed its training down from about 72 days to only six to eight weeks, according to Politico.
The decision to reverse the policy comes after the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens - Renee Good and Alex Pretti - in January. The administration also faced growing criticism from lawmakers over the expedited hiring process.
Citing an internal memo, the outlet reported that ICE planned to bolster its core training program for officers from 42 days to about 71 days. Also, officers who previously joined ICE under the more limited training regimen will now need additional training.
"As our officers continue to face coordinated campaigns of violence against them including riots outside ICE facilities, sniper attacks, and more than a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, ICE is instituting additional training including, crowd control measures, additional training for high-risk vehicle stops, a live-fire cover course for officer safety, and medical training," the Department of Homeland Security wrote in a statement to CBS news.
The additional training is just part of the changes that have happened since the shooting deaths of Good and Pretti.
In March, Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino announced that he was retiring. Also in March, President Trump fired Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security secretary. She was replaced by then-Senator Markwayne Mullin.
In April, acting ICE Director Todd Lyon announced he was leaving to accept a job in the private sector. Lyon stayed on until May 31 to assist with the transition.
