WhistleblowerAid.org client ICE whistleblower Ryan Schwank brought the training cuts to light in congressional testimony

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 7, 2026 – New reporting shows that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may be restoring more comprehensive training requirements for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, reversing course on an unlawful and dangerous ICE program first brought to light by a WhistleblowerAid.org client.

Earlier this year, former ICE academy instructor and attorney Ryan Schwank, a WhistleblowerAid.org client, revealed that the Trump Administration was lying to the American people about ICE officer training, churning out dangerously-undertrained agents to conduct Trump’s so-called “surge.” This week, news broke that DHS may be jettisoning this significantly truncated ICE cadet training program that Schwank disclosed to Congress.

“If ICE is truly restoring its full training program, I’m grateful that officers will be learning what they need to safely and professionally interact with the public and to do their jobs correctly,” said Schwank. “I also am profoundly relieved they abandoned the unconstitutional and dangerous practice of entering homes without a warrant. This shows how important it is for civil servants to speak out when they see wrongdoing and the difference they can make to the public. DHS now needs to be transparent about training reforms in order to help restore public trust in the officers and the agency.”

“Every single brave federal employee who comes forward can have a profound impact,” said David Kligerman, Special Counsel and Senior Vice President at WhistleblowerAid.org, and the attorney representing Schwank. “Ryan stood up to refute the Administration’s dangerous lies about ICE training, and unlawful orders that violated the Constitution. All it took was one brave employee to say “no!” Instead of just following orders, Ryan went to Congress and spoke the truth; and now DHS may have very well done away with the unlawful programs which Ryan blew the whistle on. We hope Ryan’s huge impact for Americans across the country inspires even more folks to come together, and shine light on so much of the wrongdoing which we still know too little about.”

Schwank testified during a congressional forum on February 23 that the ICE Academy training program had become “deficient, defective, and broken,” and thus unable to train officers to lawfully and safely do critical aspects of their jobs. Schwank exposed cuts in ICE’s training regimen that he warned were leaving new cadets unprepared for operations, and a danger to themselves and others. He identified serious shortcomings in use of force, firearms, and legal training for cadets, and warned Congress and the American people about the consequences of putting these improperly trained cadets on the street.

Schwank also testified how, in late 2025, he began teaching law to new ICE cadets and was instructed by his superiors in a secret memo to train the cadets to violate the Constitution by entering homes without a judicial warrant.

A few weeks ago, following Secretary Kristi Noem’s removal, incoming Secretary Markwayne Mullin signaled to Congress that he may be prepared to walk back the unconstitutional policy authorizing entry into homes without a judicial warrant, in what would be another significant reversal based on a disclosure by our Whistlebloweraid.org clients.

Schwank first joined ICE in 2021 as Assistant Chief Counsel, and thereafter also assumed duties as an instructor at the ICE Academy at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).

WhistleblowerAid.org is a pioneering non-profit legal organization founded in 2017 that helps public and private sector workers report and expose wrongdoing safely, lawfully, and responsibly.

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