ICE Quietly Fires Recruits It Hired Without Finishing Background Checks

ICE has begun quietly firing some of the roughly 12,000 deportation officers it hired during a 2025 recruitment surge, three former DHS officials told The Washington Post in reporting published September 15, 2026. The agency cites background red flags or poor performance officials say should have been caught before hiring; the surge, funded by the One Big Beautiful Bill and boosted by $50,000 signing bonuses, moved so fast that recruits were deployed before full vetting. An ICE unit chief had warned DHS's inspector general in August 2025 that applicants were cleared without completed fingerprint, identity, or credit checks.

Scrutiny intensified after a recruit notified of his termination in late August died outside ICE's Philadelphia office; a medical examiner ruled it suicide, a finding his family disputes. Former colleagues said the rushed hire-then-fire pattern contributed to the outcome.

ICE called the dismissals "standard practice." No public tally of the firings exists, and the DHS inspector general's audit of ICE's hiring practices remains pending.