Federal agents scuffle with protesters as immigration enforcement action continues the day after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., January 8, 2026. REUTERS/Tim Evans TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
A deadly shooting in Minneapolis at the hands of a federal immigration officer comes weeks after a bombshell report on President Donald Trump's desperate drive to rush 10,000 deportation officers onto the payroll by the end of 2025.
The explosive Daily Mail report found that the administration's $50,000 signing bonus attracted droves of unqualified recruits — high school grads who can "barely read or write," overweight candidates with doctor's notes saying they're unfit, and even applicants with pending criminal charges.
The report exposed how Immigration and Customs Enforcement took a blowtorch to hiring standards, with one Department of Homeland Security official blasting: "We have people failing open-book tests and we have folks that can barely read or write English."
Officials sent recruits to a Georgia training center before drug test results came back, later discovering some tested positive.
At the academy, some recruits showed up with tattoos tied to gangs and white supremacists. One bailed for a court date on a gun charge, and another was arrested for exploding at a bus driver. To boot, sex harassment accusations emerged, with a source describing to the Daily Mail predatory behavior during training.
The report poured cold water on ICE claims that over 85 percent were experienced officers already trained.
"'Even those who identify as former law enforcement, they're not being properly vetted and require basic training," one official said.
Background checks don't happen until after people start work, one official said, as HR rubber-stamps applicants in days. Training was slashed from 16 weeks to six, with sit-ups eliminated because recruits couldn't handle them.
By December, 584 recruits had washed out, while 558 graduated and 620 remained in training. One HR chief suffered a stress-related fainting episode.
"This isn't the department of baking cookies," one source said. "This is the Department of Homeland Security, where you can be deported from the country.
"And we're now employing people who are not equipped to tie their own shoelaces.
"This whole thing is a complete disaster from beginning to end."