What specific age and fitness requirements are listed on current ICE vacancies on USAJOBS?
Executive summary
Current ICE vacancy announcements on USAJOBS commonly require medical screening, drug testing, and a pre-employment physical fitness test for frontline law‑enforcement roles, while age restrictions have been publicly removed at the DHS/ICE policy level but legacy age ranges were previously used for some positions; applicants are repeatedly instructed to read each USAJOBS announcement for the precise requirements that apply to a given vacancy [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. Physical fitness and medical screening are explicit, routine requirements
Frontline ICE law‑enforcement vacancies on USAJOBS explicitly state that applicants must pass a pre‑employment physical fitness test (PFT) and may be required to complete a medical exam; vacancy announcements for Deportation/Detention and other Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) roles call out a mandatory PFT for those who will attend the ICE academies, and ICE career pages reiterate that physical fitness testing and medical exams are part of the hiring pathway for frontline positions [1] [5] [6].
2. Drug testing and security vetting are universal components
All ICE vacancy materials and the career FAQs note that security vetting and drug testing are standard pre‑employment hurdles across positions; USAJOBS/ICE guidance directs applicants that, following tentative selection, drug screens and background investigations will be required and that these checks affect entry‑on‑duty determinations [2] [7].
3. Age limits have been publicly rescinded by DHS policy, but reporting shows prior upper limits
In August 2025 DHS announced removal of age limits for ICE law‑enforcement recruits — a policy change described as waiving prior upper age caps to expand the applicant pool [3]. Independent reporting documents that before the change some ICE announcements required applicants to be at least 21 and capped eligibility at roughly 37 or 40 depending on the job [8]. Current ICE guidance, however, still directs applicants to read each USAJOBS posting for the most up‑to‑date eligibility rules [4].
4. Vacancy text varies; the agency defers key specifics to each USAJOBS announcement
ICE’s public hiring pages repeatedly tell applicants that requirements can differ by announcement and to review the full USAJOBS vacancy for particulars; the ICE careers and FAQ pages emphasize that some positions will require additional steps such as competency assessments, medical exams, fitness exams, and that announcement language is the controlling source [5] [2] [9].
5. Practical implication for applicants and researchers
Because USAJOBS listings for ICE vacancies include position‑specific language — for example, some supervisory or transition postings mention that a PFT “may be administered” while deportation officer announcements state a mandatory PFT for academy attendance — the definitive statement of age or fitness requirements is the individual vacancy announcement rather than a single, universally applied line item [6] [1]. ICE’s central pages and DHS statements set the policy frame but defer to the vacancy text for operational details [5] [3].
6. Limits of available reporting and where ambiguity remains
The assembled sources confirm that fitness, medical and drug screening are regularly required and that DHS removed age limits in an August 2025 announcement, while noting prior age bands; however, the available excerpts do not provide a comprehensive inventory of every currently open USAJOBS vacancy or the exact text of each announcement, so a definitive, item‑by‑item catalog of age and fitness clauses across all live ICE vacancies cannot be compiled from these materials alone [1] [3] [8] [4].