What training and certification requirements follow initial hiring for ICE ERO agents in 2025?
Executive summary
New ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) hires must complete basic immigration law enforcement training—commonly the ICE ERO Basic program or an equivalent such as CBP/Border Patrol or legacy courses—and failure to graduate removes eligibility to return to the ERO Academy; ERO basic training is described in job announcements as roughly 47–50 days in some postings but other reporting and historical descriptions cite longer programs and updated blended curricula [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) and ICE have scaled and modified training in 2025 to expand classes and use blended instruction, while fitness and medical clearances and ongoing position-specific training are required after academy graduation [6] [7] [5] [4].
1. Training is mandatory and the academy is the gatekeeper
ICE job postings make completion of “Basic Immigration Law Enforcement Training” a condition of employment, listing the ICE ERO Basic program or equivalents — ICE_BIETP, ICE_D, the legacy IOBTC, Border Patrol Academy, or CBP courses — as acceptable credentials; applicants who fail academy training are removed from the position and barred from returning to the ERO Academy except under different vacancy rules [1] [2].
2. Duration and curriculum: mixed signals in 2025 reporting
Official announcements and outside reporting provide differing snapshots of length and format. USAJobs vacancy text notes DO (Deportation Officer) training as “approximately 50 days” and ERO policy limits attendance to two academy sessions [2]. Independent reporting and agency briefings in 2025 note expanded and updated ERO basic programs with blended instruction; Politico and other outlets describe recruits receiving instruction on immigration law, Fourth Amendment limits, firearms and tactical skills, and scenario training — but they do not give a single definitive length for all classes [4] [5]. Wikipedia’s entry (which reflects contentious edits) references a shortened 47‑day schedule in 2025; that claim is included in the search set but should be treated as contested and not primary [3].
3. FLETC surge support and scaling to meet hiring goals
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) publicly said it was supporting a surge to onboard thousands of ICE personnel by the end of 2025; that coordination explains why ICE training models shifted toward more frequent classes and blended methods to expand throughput while maintaining core subjects [6]. FLETC’s role indicates training capacity was a deliberate federal priority in 2025, not simply an ICE internal change [6].
4. Fitness, medical clearance and continuing onboarding requirements
ICE’s Deportation Officer guidance requires a three-part fitness test (kneel/stand, push-ups, five‑minute step endurance) for applicants and medical self-certification if an applicant’s prior LEO service exceeds specified windows; these physical and medical screens are prerequisites tied to academy attendance and operational readiness [7]. After academy graduation, most recruits undergo position‑specific orientation and continued on‑the‑job training in detention handling, transport, and local field tactics as part of ERO operational integration [5] [8].
5. Certification, recency rules and re‑training requirements
Job announcements state that even previously certified immigration officers with a significant break (three years or more) must retake an ICE basic law enforcement training course as an employment condition; ICE policy therefore emphasizes recency of training over one‑time certification [1]. The same postings warn trainees may only attend the ERO Academy twice and that failure results in termination, signaling strict certification enforcement [2] [1].
6. Conflicting accounts and limits of available reporting
Sources in this set sometimes conflict on program length and which language or ancillary courses remain available in 2025 (for example, references to Spanish‑language courses being cut in one summary vs. agency mentions of blended and expanded instruction elsewhere). The authoritative documents in the search set are ICE vacancy language and ICE/FLETC statements; third‑party summaries (Wikipedia, industry sites) offer context but vary and should not be taken as definitive on curricular minutiae [1] [2] [6] [3].
7. What sources do not say (important gaps)
Available sources do not mention a single, agency‑wide, post‑academy national certification beyond successful completion of the basic course; they do not provide a consolidated 2025 ICE training manual or a publicly available day‑by‑day curriculum in this collection. They also do not confirm uniform national limits on use of specific safety equipment or exact minimum continuing‑education hours after hire beyond position‑specific training notes [1] [5] [4].
Bottom line: In 2025 ICE ERO new hires must clear fitness/medical screens and complete an approved basic immigration law enforcement academy (ICE ERO Basic or an equivalent legacy course), then complete position‑specific onboarding. Training length and format were adjusted in 2025 as ICE and FLETC scaled up classes; reporting diverges on exact days and some course content, so consult the specific USAJobs vacancy and ICE/FLETC releases for the definitive requirement tied to any hiring announcement [1] [2] [6] [5] [4].