Ryan Schwank: Ex-ICE instructor testifies agency slashed officer training, ryan schwank warns recruits lack lawful training
ryan schwank, a former U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement instructor who had been responsible for educating new ICE officers on proper use of force, told Congress on Monday that the agency's efforts to rapidly scale up its ranks will place recruits on the streets without the training they need to lawfully carry out immigration enforcement. He resigned from ICE on Feb. 13, less than two weeks before the hearing, and a spokesperson for the legal group Whistleblower Aid said he quit the agency in protest. Updated on: February 23, 2026 / 4: 18 PM EST
Ryan Schwank at congressional hearing
Schwank, an attorney and former career ICE employee, delivered testimony at a hearing organized by congressional Democrats. He told lawmakers, "New cadets are graduating from the Academy, despite widespread concerns among training staff that even in the final days of training, the cadets cannot demonstrate a solid grasp of the tactics or the law required to perform their jobs. " He added, "Without reform, ICE will graduate thousands of new officers who do not know their constitutional duty, do not know the limits of their authority and who do not have the training to recognize an unlawful order. That should scare everyone. "
Training days cut from 72 to 42
In addition to his testimony, internal agency documents that were part of a disclosure he and a second U. S. government whistleblower shared with Congress show a comparison between a July 2025 syllabus for the ICE officer training program and an updated one dated February 2026. Within the seven-month span, training dropped from 72 to 42 days, and multiple courses dealing with use of force appear to be removed. Schwank said he is "duty bound to tell you the ICE Basic Immigration Enforcement Training Program is now deficient, defective, and broken, " and he alleged ICE officials are lying about the amount of training new recruits receive.
Courses removed affecting use of force
The documents include a list of required exams from October 2025 that shows cadets are only graded on a fraction of the topics that were necessary to become an officer four years earlier. Eliminated evaluations appear to touch on use-of-force protocols, including items labeled "Encounters to Detention" and "Judgment Pistol Shooting. " Schwank's description of removed or reduced coursework focused on practical tactics and legal instruction tied to the proper use of force.
Documents, schedules and exam changes
A model daily schedule from January 2026 included in the materials shows that at least some of ICE's new recruits are receiving about half the training hours as previous cohorts, an analysis by Democratic staff with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation found. The package of materials shared with Congress included the two syllabi, the January 2026 model schedule and the October 2025 exam list that together map the reduction in days, hours and evaluated subject matter.
DHS response and political fallout
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, denied that any training requirements for new recruits had been eliminated. A DHS statement read, "DHS has streamlined training to cut redundancy and incorporate technology advancements, without sacrificing basic subject matter content, " and the statement continued from there. Schwank's testimony comes amid growing calls for accountability after several incidents in which federal immigration officers have deployed deadly force, including the January killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. His testimony is expected to figure in Democrats' broader push and will likely fuel their refusal to fund the Department of Homeland Security until the Trump administration agrees to a number of reforms for ICE, including a prohibition on agents wearing masks.
Schwank's public rebuke is notable: he is one of the first instances of an ICE official who served under the second Trump administration to criticize the agency and the adequacy of its training publicly. The hearing was organized by Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Robert Garcia of California, who pressed for answers on the scope and content of the reduced training regimen.
ryan schwank's testimony and the accompanying documents have crystallized concerns about the reduced timeframe, fewer evaluated topics, and omitted use-of-force courses — details lawmakers and Democratic staff say warrant further oversight and potential reforms.
Closing: The record assembled for the hearing — sworn testimony, syllabi from July 2025 and February 2026, a January 2026 model schedule and an October 2025 exam list — outlines a compressed training program that witnesses and Democratic staff say has removed key use-of-force instruction and reduced evaluative standards.
