ICE Shootings Prompt Scrutiny of Hiring, Vetting, and Training Practices

In the past week, two ICE officers fatally shot unarmed immigrants during traffic stops—one in Biddeford, Maine, and another in Houston, Texas. Neither officer was wearing a body-camera, and agency officials say the victims attempted to flee. The Maine victim, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, was 26; the Texas victim, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, was 52. The incidents have sparked protests and renewed congressional inquiries into ICE’s use-of-force policies, training, and recruitment practices.

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ICE’s hiring accelerated after the September 2001 terror attacks. In the last year, ICE reports hiring more than 12,000 officers, far larger than its historical annual intake of a few hundred. Former CBP commissioner Gil Kerlikowske warned that pressure to meet hiring quotas can lead agencies to “overlook…steps” in vetting. Past rapid-recruitment efforts, such as the 1980s-1990s Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police hiring rush, illustrate the risks of expanding without thorough background checks.

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• ICE employs over 20,000 officers.

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• House Homeland Security Committee members were told there have been 56 complaints of excessive force; 32 were cleared and one referred for discipline.

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• A Senate testimony earlier this year noted 37 ICE use-of-force investigations, with 18 closed and 19 pending.

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• Nationwide, ICE has been involved in 17 shootings, 5 fatal.

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says officers who violate policy are held accountable and that agents receive annual de-escalation refresher training. DHS highlighted appropriations earmarking $20 million for body-camera purchases, asserting that funding is not the barrier to deployment. Homeland Security Secretary Mark Mullin announced an increase in training for new officers beginning this month.

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Former ICE and Border Patrol officials argue that rapid expansion has strained vetting infrastructure. Kenneth Corey, a former NYPD medical-division chief, said comprehensive background checks—including disciplinary records and mental-health histories—are often bypassed when agencies assume prior departments performed due diligence. Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, warned that hiring without a thorough psychological examination can “severely damage…credibility with its community.”

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ICE officials declined to detail whether the Maine and Texas shootings violated internal use-of-force policies, citing ongoing investigations. Committee members reported inconsistent information about which agency—FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), or another entity—handles such investigations. Although DHS claims body-camera funding is secured, no cameras were deployed in either incident, exposing a gap between policy and practice.

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• “If the investigation is done properly, you're contacting former employers, you are getting records and not just academic records, but specifically disciplinary records from schools,” — Corey

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• “You want to make sure that the people you're hiring have the temperament and disposition necessary to do the job. It's a difficult job. It's oftentimes extremely stressful,” — Corey

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• “What police departments have learned over the years is that one officer hired without a proper background investigation, including a thorough psychological examination, can severely damage a police department's credibility with its community,” — Chuck Wexler

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The DHS secretary’s training expansion will begin this month, and ICE officials have pledged to retrain officers who completed a shortened curriculum last fall. Congressional leaders plan to submit a list of questions to ICE regarding use-of-force investigations, body-camera deployment, and vehicle-stop guidance. The administration’s stance—encouraging continued vehicle stops despite a recommended pause—suggests ongoing tension between policy recommendations and political directives.

Associated Press