What specific convictions disqualify applicants for ICE law‑enforcement positions and where is that policy published?
Executive summary
ICE law‑enforcement applicants are explicitly disqualified for convictions of misdemeanor domestic violence in job announcements because such convictions bar lawful firearm possession under federal law, and multiple hiring materials and third‑party guides also state that felony convictions render candidates ineligible; however, there is no single, consolidated regulatory list in the provided reporting and the effective standards appear in vacancy announcements and agency career pages rather than a standalone ICE statute [1] [2] [3].
1. What the official vacancies say — the concrete disqualifier that appears in job postings
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s vacancy announcements for enforcement positions — exemplified by a Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer posting — state plainly that “convictions of misdemeanor crime of domestic violence are disqualifying” because any person so convicted “cannot lawfully possess a firearm or ammunition (Title 18, U.S.C. Section …)” and these positions require carrying a firearm [1]. That language is presented as a categorical bar in the announcement and is the clearest, agency‑facing statement in the available reporting about convictions that disqualify applicants [1].
2. Felonies and broader criminal history: consistent practice but not a single-source rule
Multiple career guides and secondary summaries of ICE hiring make a broader assertion that felony convictions disqualify applicants for ICE law‑enforcement roles — a common standard in federal policing — with one career site summarizing that “ICE agent candidates cannot have been convicted of any felony” [2]. ICE’s public career pages emphasize background checks and that candidates must satisfy law enforcement suitability standards but do not in the provided excerpts publish a single, exhaustive statutory list of disqualifying convictions; instead they stress training, background screening, and mission priorities [3] [4].
3. Where the policy is published — job announcements and ICE careers pages, not a discrete code in the sources
The decisive location for the disqualifying language in the reporting is the USAJOBS vacancy announcement for specific ICE enforcement roles and ICE’s own careers/FAQ pages: the USAJOBS posting carries the explicit prohibition related to misdemeanor domestic violence tied to firearm possession, while ICE’s careers pages describe background vetting and training requirements that imply suitability standards without enumerating every disqualifying conviction in the excerpts provided [1] [3] [4]. No single ICE regulation or internal policy memo listing all disqualifying convictions appears in the supplied sources.
4. How federal law intersects with hiring standards — firearms prohibition as the legal hook
The announcement ties the disqualification for misdemeanor domestic violence to the federal firearms prohibition — Congress has long barred those convicted of certain domestic violence misdemeanors from possessing firearms — and the job posting uses that statutory prohibition as a practical reason to disqualify candidates for firearm‑carrying roles [1]. The reporting links the legal restriction to the operational need that officers carry weapons, which is why that class of conviction is singled out in the vacancy text [1].
5. Gaps, contested interpretations and the recruitment context
Reporting and commentary raise concerns about how tightly ICE applies these standards in practice, with accounts alleging recruits have entered training before full background screening or despite disqualifying issues and critics arguing screening has been sloppy during aggressive recruitment drives [5] [6]. These pieces suggest an institutional tension: the formal disqualifiers are stated publicly in job postings and career FAQs [1] [3], but oversight and implementation during a hiring surge may lag, creating a gap between written policy and practice [5] [6].
6. Bottom line and limits of the available reporting
The clearest, documented disqualifier in the supplied sources is conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (explicit in a USAJOBS ICE vacancy announcement and tied to federal firearms law) and reputable secondary sources and career guides state felony convictions are disqualifying, but the reporting does not provide an exhaustive ICE regulatory table of every disqualifying offense; the operative published sources in this material are ICE job announcements on USAJOBS and ICE’s careers/FAQ web pages rather than a single published internal regulation [1] [2] [3] [4].