ICE Orders Additional Training for 10,000+ Officers After Expedited Hiring Surge

• by Shimanta Das
• October 7, 2026

More than 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who received expedited training during a hiring surge last year are now required to undergo additional training, according to a Department of Homeland Security official, an administration official, and a person familiar with the new policy. The surge was aimed at boosting the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, and the enhanced training is intended to ensure all officers meet the agency’s rigorous standards.

Despite the additional training requirement, ICE continues to make near record-setting immigration arrests each month, including more than 48,000 arrests in September. The majority of new officers brought on during the hiring surge are experienced law enforcement officers who have already successfully completed a law enforcement academy. The new training courses, run by seasoned officers, focus on essential skills such as arrest techniques, defensive tactics, conflict management and de-escalation, extensive firearms and marksmanship training, and multiple classes dedicated to use of force policy and proper use of force.

For those who join ICE’s Special Response Teams (SRT), the training is even more intensive and rigorous. It includes 30 hours of tryouts just to be considered, an SRT Basic Operator Course, continuous and ongoing training in specialized skills like breaching techniques, perimeter control, advanced firearms training, and hostage rescue, as well as maintaining an expert marksman qualification on all issued firearms.

The additional training comes as ICE faces scrutiny over its immigration enforcement practices. A Chicago woman shot five times by a CBP officer has filed a federal lawsuit, and a new ACLU report claims Trump’s immigration policy is breaking American democracy. The agency has not commented on the new training policy, but officials emphasize that it is part of ongoing efforts to ensure officers are fully prepared for their duties.