What is the standard issue firearm for ICE agents?
Executive summary
The standard-issue handgun most commonly associated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field agents in recent years is the SIG Sauer P320 family—the agency moved from the older SIG P229 DAK (.40 S&W) to the P320 compact variant as its adopted service pistol—while ICE policy and training are managed centrally by the agency’s Firearms and Use of Force Handbook and its National Firearms and Tactical Training Unit (NFTTU) [1] [2] [3]. That said, ICE’s components (HSI, ERO, OPR) maintain approved lists, authorizations for personally owned weapons, specialty shoulder-fired and long guns, and qualifications that make “one standard issue” more of a practical norm than an absolute single-model mandate [4] [2] [5].
1. The headline weapon: SIG Sauer P320 (agency trend, not an immutable rule)
ICE has publicly been reported to have transitioned from the SIG Sauer P229 DAK—adopted around 2009 and chambered in .40 S&W—to the SIG P320 compact (P320C) as its prevalent sidearm in later years, a change reflected in open-source reporting about government handgun choices and contractor shoot-offs that agencies use to select duty pistols [1] [6]. This reporting frames the P320 series as the modern duty choice for ICE, aligning the agency with a broader federal move toward modular striker-fired pistols, but the sources stop short of publishing a single, unambiguous “must-issue” memo attached to the P320 for every ICE officer in every duty posture [1] [2].
2. Policy and training that shape what agents carry
ICE’s Firearms and Use of Force Handbook sets the bureau-wide rules governing who may carry firearms, the qualifications required, and the process for authorization and revocation of firearm privileges, and it applies across ICE components including Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) [2] [7]. The agency also fields the NFTTU, which conducts testing, modification and certification of weapons, ammunition and gear for ICE and partner agencies—demonstrating that ICE’s “standard issue” is governed by centralized testing and qualification standards as much as procurement pickups [3].
3. Variations by component: HSI, ERO, OPR and personally owned lists
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) maintains its own authorized-firearms documentation that lists both agency-issued shoulder-fired weapons and approved personally owned handguns an agent may carry on duty after inspection and qualification, a practice mirrored elsewhere in ICE; that means duty pistols can vary by component and by mission, even when a common model like the P320 is widespread [4] [2]. Regulations also permit officers who qualify to carry firearms under federal law, but the specifics—make, model, caliber—are mediated by ICE’s firearms unit and component policy rather than left entirely to individuals [7] [8].
4. The bigger picture: long guns, procurement and privatized profit motives
Beyond handguns, ICE has been expanding purchases of long guns, rifles and tactical gear from defense contractors, reflecting recent procurement spikes for precision rifles, accessories and non-lethal tools; these procurements—documented in reporting about large purchases from firms like Geissele Automatics—underscore that “standard issue” for an ICE task force can mean an array of weapons depending on mission and budget priorities [5]. Reporting on suppliers and contracts also raises questions about the influence of manufacturers and political priorities on which systems become standard across law-enforcement fleets [5].
5. Limits of available reporting and remaining uncertainties
Available public documents and reporting make a persuasive case that the SIG P320 family is ICE’s dominant modern duty pistol and that agency-wide policy governs qualifications and allowed equipment, but the sources do not produce a single, agency-signed one-line directive that reads “ICE standard issue = X model for all agents” applicable in every unit and circumstance; component-level authorized lists, personally-owned approved lists, and mission-specific long-gun issues complicate any absolutist claim [1] [4] [2]. Where clarity matters—exact serial procurement contracts, issuance rates, or whether every active-duty frontline ERO officer carries a factory SIG P320—the cited materials are either silent or framed by journalism and agency handbooks rather than a single consolidated procurement directive [3] [2].