A former ICE attorney and instructor, Ryan Schwank, testified that the agency’s training program has become “deficient, defective and broken.” He described a system where essential instruction on the Constitution, lawful arrest, and use‑of‑force standards has been removed, and where new officers are being taught practices that contradict the Fourth Amendment, including entering homes without a judicial warrant. Schwank resigned so he could speak publicly, warning that rushing thousands of under‑trained officers into the field is dangerous and unlawful.
This was months ago. It is no longer “news.” And yet it is exactly the kind of truth that must not be forgotten. The public may move on, but the consequences of this training system have not. The same pipeline that contributed to fatal mistakes—including the deaths of U.S. citizens—remains in place.
Since Schwank’s testimony, very little has changed. Congress has not launched a formal investigation. DHS continues to deny the training cuts but has not provided documentation to support those denials. The hiring surge continues, sending thousands of inadequately trained officers into communities. No independent review has been initiated into the warrantless‑entry memo or the legality of the curriculum. The silence is not a sign of resolution; it is a sign of avoidance.
Forgetting is not harmless. Forgetting is how violations become normalized. Forgetting is how preventable tragedies repeat themselves. Forgetting is how public institutions drift further from the law they are sworn to uphold. The violations did not stop simply because the headlines did. The risks to the public remain active and unaddressed. And the agency responsible has not been held accountable.
ICE must be held accountable for the violations already committed. Constitutional and legal instruction must be restored. Congress must investigate the training cuts and the warrantless‑entry memo. Independent oversight must review use‑of‑force instruction, testing standards, and officer deployment. The hiring surge must be paused until training meets constitutional requirements. Families harmed by unlawful or negligent enforcement deserve transparency and justice.
This cannot be allowed to fade from public memory. A federal agency cannot be permitted to train its officers to break the law they are sworn to uphold.
