When did ICE update its firearms and use-of-force policy most recently (year)?
Executive summary
ICE’s current named directive for firearms and use of force is Directive 19009.3, which appears on ICE’s website with a publication notice dated April 30, 2024 [1], but reporting and FOIA copies show a substantive revision dated May 26, 2023 [2] [3]; therefore the most recent policy-year to cite depends on whether one treats the internal substantive revision or the site posting/publication as the decisive “update” [2] [1].
1. The paperwork and the provenance: what exists on ICE’s site and in FOIA releases
ICE lists “Directive: 19009.3 Firearms and Use of Force” on its official policies page with a public posting date of April 30, 2024, which is the agency’s current web reference for that directive [1], while the FOIA-hosted PDF of the directive is available and confirms the document title and structure [4]; reporting based on earlier FOIA disclosures shows that the text of the directive was revised and circulated internally as recently as May 26, 2023 [2].
2. Two relevant timestamps: 2023 (substantive revision) and 2024 (public posting)
Journalistic and advocacy reporting that reviewed the directive’s contents identified a dated revision of May 26, 2023 and described that update as the “as recently as” revision for the 13‑page Directive 19009.3, with much of the text later redacted in public versions under law‑enforcement exemptions [2] [3]; the ICE website later shows a public directive entry dated April 30, 2024, meaning the agency’s online repository lists 2024 as the publication date even though the substantive revision noted in reporting occurred in 2023 [1] [2].
3. Why both years matter: internal policy change versus public disclosure
For analysts, advocates, and litigants the May 26, 2023 revision is significant because reporters and watchdogs cited that date when discussing changes to ICE’s use‑of‑force guidance and when comparing ICE’s approach to DHS and DOJ standards [2] [5]; for members of the public relying on ICE’s official library, the directive’s visible posting on April 30, 2024 is the most recent public publication date and is therefore the year the agency presents as current on its website [1].
4. Conflicting signals and later documents: 2025 references and handbooks
A separate listing for an “Attachment 11 ICE Firearms Policy” appears with an April 1, 2025 timestamp in a government contracting repository [6], but that item may be an attachment or filing rather than a standalone directive revision and requires further verification from ICE to confirm whether it represents a formal policy update; contemporaneous handbooks and chapters cited in ICE documents (such as handbook chapters with 2021 dates) show that ICE uses a mix of handbooks and directives with staggered revision histories [7] [8].
5. Bottom line and recommended citation practice
When asked for the most recent year in which ICE updated its firearms and use‑of‑force policy, the defensible, balanced answer is that the directive was substantively revised in 2023 (May 26, 2023, per reporting and FOIA disclosures) while ICE’s public policy library shows a publication/posting date of 2024 (April 30, 2024) — citing both years best captures the record and the difference between internal revision and public posting [2] [1].