Ryan Schwank Testifies to Congress, Alleges ICE Training Has Been Slashed and ‘Broken’
In testimony before a congressional forum, ryan schwank, a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement instructor and attorney, told lawmakers the agency's rapid expansion of personnel is putting inadequately trained recruits onto the streets and that the ICE Basic Immigration Enforcement Training Program is now deficient, defective and broken.
Ryan Schwank's testimony and immediate fallout
Schwank testified Monday at a hearing organized by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Robert Garcia. He warned that new cadets are graduating from the Academy despite widespread concerns among training staff that cadets in the final days of training cannot demonstrate a solid grasp of required tactics or the law necessary to perform their jobs. He added that without reform, the agency will graduate thousands of new officers who do not understand constitutional duty, limits of authority, or how to recognize an unlawful order.
Schwank resigned from the agency on Feb. 13, a date provided by congressional aides; he left less than two weeks before the hearing. A spokesperson for Whistleblower Aid, the legal group representing Schwank, said he quit the agency in protest. His public rebuke stands as one of the first instances of an ICE official who served under the second Trump administration criticizing the agency's training and readiness.
Document package: syllabus changes and training cuts
Alongside his testimony, internal agency documents that were part of a disclosure he and a second U. S. government whistleblower shared with Congress show a rapid contraction in formal instruction. The package includes a July 2025 syllabus for the ICE officer training program and an updated syllabus dated February 2026. Within that seven-month span, total training time dropped from 72 days to 42 days.
A model daily schedule from January 2026 is part of the material and shows at least some new recruits are receiving about half the training hours of previous cohorts. A list of required exams from October 2025 indicates that cadets are now graded on a fraction of the topics that were necessary to become an officer four years earlier.
What training elements were removed
Multiple courses that appear tied to use-of-force protocols were removed between the two syllabi. Eliminated evaluations appear to touch on modules labeled "Encounters to Detention" and "Judgment Pistol Shooting. " Schwank alleged that ICE officials are lying about the amount of training new recruits receive and described the program as broken.
Political and policy implications
Schwank's testimony arrives 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. Lawmakers and advocacy groups have seized on the testimony and the document disclosures as grounds for pressing for major reforms.
Schwank's testimony is likely to intensify efforts by Democrats to withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security until the administration agrees to a set of reforms for ICE, including a proposal to prohibit agents from wearing masks while on duty.
What the Department of Homeland Security says
The Department of Homeland Security denied that any training requirements for new recruits had been eliminated. DHS said it has streamlined training to cut redundancy and incorporate technology advancements without sacrificing basic subject matter content.
Updates in this matter were recorded on February 23, 2026 at 4: 18 PM EST. Recent updates indicate these disclosures and testimony may continue to shape legislative debate; details may evolve as lawmakers and committee staff review the documents and hear further testimony.
