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How do ICE 2025 PFT standards compare to CBP, FBI, and TSA entry requirements?
Executive summary
ICE’s 2025 Pre‑Employment/Academy Physical Fitness Test (PFT) is described as a four‑event timed battery used to screen and to ensure trainees can meet academy demands [1]. CBP uses multiple PFT formats across officer and Border Patrol pipelines (run, push‑ups, sit‑ups, lift/lower cycles and a 1.5‑mile run in some exercises) and a Fitness Graduation Standard for academy graduation [2] [3]. The FBI and TSA both require fitness or medical assessments for their law‑enforcement tracks but publish less standardized, public numeric PFT details in the provided materials: the FBI says applicants must “meet our physical fitness requirements” as part of Special Agent selection [4] [5], while TSA’s hiring emphasizes medical/vision/hearing screens and a cognitive CBT test; TSA Federal Air Marshal and some TSA programs do use a Physical Training Assessment (PTA) [6] [7].
1. ICE 2025: Job‑specific four‑event PFT, early and mandatory
ICE’s 2025 materials describe the PFT as “a fitness test consisting of 4 timed events” and emphasize the test predicts ability to meet academy and on‑the‑job demands; failure of any event means failing the entire PFT and can remove a selectee from the hiring process after a second failed attempt [1]. DHS documents and ICE guidance reiterate that recruits must meet agency Physical Ability Assessment standards as a condition of employment, and DHS said ICE is moving fitness checks earlier in training rather than lowering standards [8] [9].
2. CBP: Multiple agency tests, practical exercise emphasis
Customs and Border Protection presents several, slightly different PFT batteries depending on path (CBP Officer, Border Patrol Agent, Air and Marine Operations) and uses a two‑part test and a Fitness Graduation Standard tied to academy progress. Published CBP guidance lists timed push‑ups, sit‑ups, an agility lift/lower cycle, and in some versions a 1.5‑mile run and flexibility measures; the Fletc/CBP materials frame the FGS as a practical exercise candidates must pass to graduate [2] [3]. In short: CBP’s tests are multi‑component, vary by job pipeline, and are embedded into training graduation criteria [2] [3].
3. FBI: Requirement to “meet” fitness standards, but fewer public numeric details
FBI recruiting pages state applicants for Special Agent must “meet our physical fitness requirements” and complete medical exams, vaccinations, and a PFT as part of the selection and academy process [4] [5]. The provided FBI materials focus on eligibility rules, security clearance and background checks; they emphasize fitness as mandatory but do not publish a single public four‑event numeric standard in the sources supplied here [4] [5]. External reporting (not in these FBI pages) suggests debates inside the Bureau about changing recruitment standards, but those articles are separate from the FBI’s own statements cited above [10]. Available sources do not mention specific FBI PFT event names or pass scores in the supplied documents.
4. TSA: Cognitive/medical focus for many hires; PTAs for law‑enforcement tracks
TSA’s 2025 public hiring guidance in the supplied results centers on the Computer‑Based Test (CBT/TAB) and on medical/vision/hearing/drug screens as early gating elements for Transportation Security Officers. For law‑enforcement streams such as Federal Air Marshal candidates, TSA uses a Physical Training Assessment (PTA) to evaluate fitness for training [6] [7]. The supplied TSA items emphasize cognitive testing and medical screens; they do not provide a single, universal TSA numeric PFT for all hires in the materials here [6] [7]. Available sources do not mention a TSA‑wide four‑event timed PFT analogous to ICE’s four‑event description.
5. How they compare — framing and operational differences
- Structure and publicity: ICE publicly frames a clear, four‑event timed PFT for academy entry and graduation [1]. CBP publishes several job‑specific batteries and a Fitness Graduation Standard integrated with training [2] [3]. FBI and TSA require applicants to “meet” fitness/medical requirements and apply PTAs for specific law‑enforcement tracks, but the supplied FBI/TSA sources do not list a single public numeric four‑event battery comparable to ICE’s public description [4] [5] [7].
- Purpose and timing: ICE and CBP explicitly use PFTs as gatekeepers for academy success and job readiness [1] [3]. FBI fitness screening is part of the Special Agent vetting and academy cycle [4]. TSA’s screening prioritizes medical, sensory and cognitive assessments for most TSOs but reserves PTAs for air marshal training and similar programs [6] [7].
- Variation and transparency: CBP shows the most pipeline variation with multiple test formats [2]. ICE’s four‑event PFT is presented as standardized across its recruiting streams in the supplied ICE page [1]. FBI and TSA are more opaque in the publicly available materials provided here regarding exact event lists and pass marks [4] [7].
6. Limitations, disagreements and what’s not in the record
The supplied sources do not publish detailed numeric pass‑scores or the exact four ICE events in full in these snippets [1]. The FBI materials assert a fitness requirement but do not include the test breakdown or scoring publicly in the files provided [4] [5]. Reporting that federally questions changes to FBI hiring standards exists elsewhere but is not fully detailed in the FBI job pages here [10]. Available sources do not mention direct side‑by‑side numeric comparisons (e.g., push‑up counts or run times across agencies) in the supplied documents — that data is simply not presented in these search results.
If you want, I can pull the exact event names and scoring ranges from the ICE PFT page and CBP PFT guidance (or search for FBI/TSA PFT numeric standards) and produce a side‑by‑side numeric table — tell me which agencies or candidate pipelines (HSI Special Agent, ERO/DOTP, CBP Officer, Border Patrol, FBI Special Agent, TSA FAM) you want compared.