Letters from an American October 23, 2025
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Oct 24, 2025 Delve into the rapid recruitment and training shortcuts at ICE, where standards are lowered as the agency seeks to hire thousands. Explore the implications of a massive funding boost for deportation officers and the challenges tied to vetting new recruits. The discussion also connects authoritarian regimes with mediocre staffing and their impact on governance. Plus, insights on Trump’s pardons for allies, corporate donor influence, and a controversial plan involving federal agents in San Francisco. This is a whirlwind of policy and political maneuvering!
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Rapid ICE Expansion Risks Lowered Standards
- The GOP reconciliation bill massively expanded ICE funding and aimed to hire 10,000 deportation officers quickly.
- Heather Cox Richardson highlights that hiring at that scale requires vetting roughly 500,000 applicants, risking lowered standards.
Speed Hiring Produces Poor-Quality Agents
- ICE shortened training from 13 to 6 weeks and offered large bonuses, then rushed recruits into the field.
- This produced hires who failed drug tests, fitness standards, or basic exams, echoing past corruption risks when hiring fast.
Authoritarian Forces Attract Low Performers
- Political scientists found secret police ranks swell with those failing merit systems and facing dismissal.
- Heather connects that finding to modern ICE recruitment, suggesting authoritarian tendencies draw lower-performing personnel.