Transcription
Thank you, Senator. Thank you, Senator Blumenthal, Representative Garcia, members of the committee. My name is Ryan Schwank.
I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution when I joined ICE on August 1st, 2021, as an assistant chief counsel. I followed that oath for four and a half years, working side by side with ICE officers. And I followed it when I resigned on February 13th, 2026, a little over a week ago, so that I could speak to you today.
I am here because I am duty bound to report the legally required training program at the ICE Academy is deficient, defective, and broken. Five months ago, I was asked to teach the law to new cadets at the ICE Academy in Gleno, Georgia, where ICE is training its new, inexperienced recruits. I volunteered those without law enforcement training. I volunteered to take on this assignment based on my experience in law enforcement oversight, including at the state and local level prior to my work with ICE.
On my first day, I received secretive orders to teach new cadets to violate the Constitution by entering homes without a judicial warrant. For the last five months, I watched ICE dismantle the training program, cutting 240 hours of vital classes from a 584-hour program. Classes that teach the Constitution, our legal system, firearms training, the use of force, lawful arrests, proper detention, and the limits of officers' authority.
For example, they ceased all of the legal instructions regarding use of force. This means that cadets are not taught what it means to be objectively reasonable. The very standard which the law requires them to meet when deciding whether or not to use deadly force. Our jobs as instructors are to teach them so well that they can make split-second decisions about what they can and cannot do in life or death situations. Yet, in the name of turning out an endless stream of officers, DHS leadership has dismantled the academic and practical tests that we need to know if cadets can safely and lawfully perform their job. All to satisfy an administration demanding they train thousands of new officers before the end of the year.
DHS told the public that new cadets receive all the training they need to perform their duties, that no critical material or standards have been cut. This is a lie. ICE made the program shorter and they removed so many essential parts that what remains is a dangerous husk. No reasonable person would believe a training program suddenly cut nearly in half could meet the minimum legal requirements.
These aren't abstract rules. They're required in regulations such as HCFR287G1. Congress requires immigration officers to meet minimum standards for a reason. ICE cannot lawfully perform their duties, make arrests, carry weapons, and use force without passing appropriate training. New cadets are graduating from the academy despite widespread concerns among training staff that even in the final days of training, the cadets cannot demonstrate a solid grasp of the tactics or the law required to perform their jobs.
Without reform, ICE will graduate thousands of new officers who do not know their constitutional duty, do not know the limits of their authority, and who do not have the training to recognize an unlawful order. That should scare everyone. DHS assures the public these cadets can get the job training to compensate for anything missing at the academy. This is a lie. Many graduates go to their home office just long enough to get their gun, their badge, and their body armor before deploying to places like Minneapolis and other ICE operations with minimal supervision. It's shocking that anyone would think this is safe or responsible.
And this pattern of lies is not isolated. It extends beyond the training program to include deceiving Congress and the public about the rules followed by ICE officers once they graduate. On my first day at the academy, I was instructed to read and return a memo in my supervisor's presence which claimed ICE officers could enter homes without a judicial warrant. The acting ICE director authorized the very conduct that DHS in its own 2025 legal training materials had called the chief evil against which the wording of the Fourth Amendment is directed. That is physical entry of the home without consent or a proper warrant. Never in my career had I ever received such a blatantly unlawful order, nor one conveyed in such a troubling manner. Incredibly, I was being shown this memo in secret by my supervisor, who made sure that I understood that disobedience could cost me my job. ICE is teaching cadets to violate the Constitution, and they were attempting to cloak it in secrecy by demanding that I lie about it.
I am here to convey to the public the danger that is being created at the ICE Academy. I know from my conversations with many facility members, many of the faculty, that I am not alone in my fear. Law enforcement is a deadly serious business. It is not a place for shortcuts. Deficient training can and will get people killed. It can and will lead to unlawful arrests, violations of constitutional rights, and a fundamental loss of public trust in law enforcement.
ICE is lying to Congress and the American people about the steps it is taking to ensure its 12,000 new officers faithfully uphold the Constitution and can perform their jobs. I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak to you today and happy to answer any questions you have now or in the future. Thank you for your attention.
Thank you, Mr. Schwank.