Ex-ICE Instructor Tells Congress Ice Immigration Training Is ‘Deficient, Defective, and Broken’ After Days Slashed
A former instructor who helped train immigration officers told lawmakers that ice immigration training has been dramatically reduced and that new cadets are being graduated despite persistent concerns from training staff about their readiness, a claim backed by internal syllabi and schedules disclosed to Congress.
Former instructor’s testimony: readiness and resignation
Ryan Schwank, an attorney and former career ICE employee, testified to Congress that new cadets are graduating even though training staff have widespread concerns the cadets cannot demonstrate a solid grasp of tactics or the law required to perform their jobs. Schwank said the ICE Basic Immigration Enforcement Training Program is "deficient, defective, and broken" and alleged ICE officials are lying about the amount of training new recruits receive.
Schwank resigned from ICE less than two weeks before the hearing; congressional aides say his resignation occurred on Feb. 13. A spokesperson for Whistleblower Aid said he quit the agency in protest. Schwank delivered his testimony during a congressional hearing organized by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Robert Garcia of California.
Ice Immigration training cuts: timelines and documents
Internal agency documents disclosed to Congress include a July 2025 syllabus for the ICE officer training program and an updated syllabus dated February 2026. Within that seven-month span, the total training period dropped from 72 days to 42 days. A model daily schedule from January 2026 shows at least some of the agency's new recruits are receiving about half the training hours of previous cohorts.
Evaluations, exams and use-of-force topics removed
A list of required exams from October 2025 indicates cadets are being graded on only a fraction of the topics that were necessary to become an officer four years earlier. Eliminated evaluations appear to include use-of-force protocols, with specific course items removed such as "Encounters to Detention" and "Judgment Pistol Shooting. "
Political fallout and policy leverage
The hearing comes amid growing calls for accountability after several incidents in which federal immigration officers deployed deadly force, including the January killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. Schwank's testimony is expected to intensify efforts by Democrats to withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security until the administration agrees to a set of proposed reforms for ICE, one of which would prohibit agents from wearing masks.
Agency response and incomplete statement
The Department of Homeland Security denied that any training requirements for new recruits had been eliminated. The statement said the department had "streamlined training to cut redundancy and incorporate technology advancements, without sacrificing basic subject matter content. " The disclosure included a trailing fragment of the statement that begins "Under these new" and is incomplete in the provided context.
What remains unclear and what to watch next
Multiple documentary items and testimony cited at the hearing present a clear sequence of changes to syllabi, schedules and exams, but several operational details remain unclear in the provided context. Future developments to watch include any formal reforms adopted by the agency, responses to calls to condition DHS funding on policy changes, and whether additional internal materials or testimony further detail how training hours and curricula were reduced.
Updated on Feb. 23, 2026 at 4: 18 PM ET; details in this article reflect the documents and testimony disclosed to Congress in the materials provided for the hearing.
