Overview
- Former ICE lawyer and instructor Ryan Schwank, who resigned on February 13, told a Democratic-led forum the academy program is “deficient, defective and broken.”
- Internal records released by Senate Democrats indicate roughly 240–250 hours were removed from prior curricula, with more than a dozen practical exams eliminated and classes such as Use of Force Simulation cut.
- Schwank testified he was instructed to teach recruits they could enter homes without a judicial warrant, echoing a whistleblower memo Democrats say authorized warrantless entries.
- DHS and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons dispute any substantive cuts, asserting recruits receive 56 days at the academy plus tracked on‑the‑job training and that longer daily schedules preserved content.
- The documents and testimony conflict with official assertions, factor into ongoing investigations and a DHS funding fight, and follow fatal agent-involved shootings in Minneapolis that heightened oversight of ICE operations.