Overview
- NBC News reports some recruits were sent to the Georgia academy before finishing required vetting, with trainers later uncovering missing fingerprints, failed drug tests, and disqualifying criminal histories.
- Internal data reviewed by NBC show more than 200 trainees have been dismissed in training, mostly for academic or physical shortcomings, with fewer than 10 removed over criminal, drug-testing, or safety issues.
- ICE shortened its FLETC course to six weeks after an earlier cut to eight, and nearly half of recent trainees failed a written law exam even with access to notes, while the 1.5‑mile run remains the top physical-roadblock.
- An October 5 internal email urged field offices to run preliminary fitness checks, warning of "athletically allergic" candidates, and the academy has moved fitness screening earlier in the program.
- The agency continues a rapid hiring drive with large bonuses and a big applicant pool as DHS disputes that one‑third failures are representative and says roughly 85% of hires are prior law‑enforcement officers fast-tracked through a separate validation process.