WASHINGTON (AP) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been rapidly expanding its workforce, hiring thousands of new officers as part of the Trump administration’s attempt to ramp up immigration arrests and deportations.The supersizing of ICE -- fueled by an infusion of billions of dollars granted by Congress — has raised concerns about the agency’s hiring practices and whether officers being brought on are receiving proper vetting. Those concerns have been rejected by the Department of Homeland Security.Relatives of the ICE officer who shot a Colombian man in Maine this week told The Associated Press he struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood and never should have been given a badge and gun to patrol American streets.The precise circumstances surrounding the officer’s hiring were not immediately clear. But the revelations about the man, David Brouillette, shine a new spotlight on ICE’s hiring spree and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.Here is a look at the agency’s hiring and training practices:
A surge in new hires at ICEIn January, Homeland Security said it had hired 12,000 new officers and agents since the hiring surge began and said thousands of those new officers were already out on the streets assisting with investigations. The number includes both deportation officers and agents for Homeland Security Investigations, a separate agency that falls under ICE.
