US journalist reports flash hire by ICE after 6-minute interview

Journalist reports flash hire by ICE A report by an independent journalist has reignited the debate about the way in which Donald Trump’s government has recruited agents for the United States immigration police. Laura Jedeed claims she was hired by ICE after just a six-minute interview. The speeches went viral on social media. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp ICE is the agency responsible for immigrant deportation operations in the country. These actions have been criticized for excessive use of force and have been linked to the deaths of at least two American citizens in January. According to Jedeed, the hiring took place even without completing the basic stages of the selection process. In testimony to a Minnesota Senate committee, she stated that she did not complete the required documentation or take a drug test. “I hope that my experience helps to shed light on the disregard that this organization shows for human life,” the journalist told the senators. The Department of Homeland Security disputes the account, but the case has raised questions about the agency’s internal control. The episode comes amid an unprecedented acceleration in ICE hiring. The agency claims to adopt a “wartime recruitment” strategy. The objective is to make the mass deportation policy viable, which foresees the expulsion of around 1 million people per year. To this end, the government reduced the training time for new agents from 16 to eight weeks, relaxed the age limit and eliminated the requirement to learn Spanish — the second most spoken language in the United States. At the same time, ICE began offering aggressive financial incentives, such as bonuses of up to US$50,000 (R$263,000) and student debt forgiveness that can reach US$60,000 (R$315,000). The agency also intensified recruitment campaigns in several cities and on social media, with promotional material with a strongly militarized aesthetic. The measures had an effect. More than 220,000 people applied for jobs at ICE in the last year alone. Since Trump returned to power in January 2025, the number of agents has more than doubled, jumping from around 10,000 to 22,000. This growth is considered unprecedented. Faced with the increase in reports of violence in migration operations, experts and parliamentarians have questioned the hiring criteria, the reduction in training and the way agents work. Another recurring point of criticism is the lack of punishment in cases of abuse committed during ICE actions. MORE

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