A former attorney for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told congressional lawmakers on February 23 that the agency’s training program for new deportation officers has been substantially weakened, prompting renewed scrutiny from communities across the country — including Southwest Washington, where ICE officers regularly operate along the I‑5 corridor.

The comments came from Ryan Schwank, who previously oversaw training for new deportation officers at ICE’s academy. Speaking at a forum convened by Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Robert Garcia of California, Schwank said the current program is “deficient, defective and broken,” alleging that course hours, exams, and critical instruction have been reduced. Schwank resigned from the agency on February 13, according to Blumenthal’s office.

The forum was the third in a series examining ICE training and officer conduct. Blumenthal’s office released whistleblower materials — dozens of pages of internal documents — detailing changes to officer instruction. Those documents are publicly available through the senator’s office at this link. The materials show reductions in practical exams, cuts to multiple courses, and the removal of “Use of Force Simulation Training,” according to Senate staff who analyzed the disclosures.

The Department of Homeland Security strongly disputed Schwank’s assertions. In a written statement provided Monday, department spokesperson Lauren Bis said ICE recruits continue to receive 56 days of formal instruction and roughly 28 days of on‑the‑job training. She said no training hours have been cut and that officers are still taught firearms handling, de‑escalation practices, and constitutional standards governing arrests and searches. DHS characterized recent changes as efforts to streamline redundancies rather than diminish core competencies.

These competing accounts arrive during a period of rapid expansion: federal officials are scaling up the number of deportation officers nationwide as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda. The acceleration has raised concerns among civil rights advocates and local governments that officers may be deployed into communities without the preparation necessary to conduct lawful, proportionate, and accountable enforcement operations.

For residents in Cowlitz County and the broader Southwest Washington region, the debate is not abstract. Although ICE does not maintain a field office in Cowlitz County, its Enforcement and Removal Operations personnel regularly conduct activity along the I‑5 corridor. Local governments, schools, and community organizations have previously sought clarity on how officers are trained to engage with bystanders, documenters, and individuals who may not be targets of enforcement operations. Questions have also emerged around the level of supervision ICE officers receive once deployed.

DHS stated that new recruits are monitored after academy graduation, but did not specify how frequently or under what criteria that monitoring occurs. Schwank, by contrast, alleged during the forum that oversight structures have been eroded alongside training requirements. Those claims remain allegations attributed to Schwank and are not independently confirmed beyond the documents released by Blumenthal’s office.

Blumenthal and Garcia have argued that without rigorous training, gaps in preparation could translate into constitutional violations during field operations. Earlier whistleblower disclosures from Blumenthal’s office included statements from two individuals — one now confirmed to be Schwank — who alleged ICE adopted a policy authorizing forced home entries without warrants signed by a judge. ICE has not confirmed such a policy and has previously said its officers follow legal standards governing home arrests.

As DHS and congressional investigators continue to dispute the nature and extent of training changes, local jurisdictions are watching closely. Any reduction in officer preparation could shape how federal enforcement interacts with Southwest Washington residents, including those who are not themselves subjects of removal actions. With officer expansion ongoing, clarification about training requirements and on‑the‑job supervision remains a central question for communities seeking transparency and predictability in federal operations.

Sources

Associated Press via MyNorthwest: ICE officer training is ‘deficient’ and ‘broken,’ former agency lawyer tells congressional forum

Office of Sen. Richard Blumenthal: Whistleblower training documents