What physical fitness standards must ICE special agent applicants meet?
Executive summary
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent applicants must take and meet minimums on a job-related Physical Fitness Test (PFT) and separate Physical Abilities Assessment/Graduation Standard exercises used in selection and academy training (HSI PFT and PAA/FGS) [1] [2] [3]. The agency’s public materials and training handbooks state selectees “must meet or exceed each event’s minimum standards” and that all trainees retake and pass the PFT/PAA to graduate the academy [1] [2] [3].
1. What the standards are — agency materials set event minimums
ICE and DHS videos and guidance describe an HSI PFT composed of discrete events with published minimum performance standards; applicants must meet or exceed each event’s minimum to qualify as HSI Special Agent selectees [1] [4]. The HSI recruiting and training materials explicitly instruct candidates to train to those standards ahead of testing [4]. The FOIA-released HSI handbook and related documents frame these tests as job-related measures intended to predict an applicant’s ability to meet academy and field requirements [3] [1].
2. Two different but linked fitness measures: PFT and PAA/FGS
ICE uses at least two linked fitness measures: a Physical Fitness Test (PFT) used in selection and a Physical Abilities Assessment (PAA) or Fitness Graduation Standard (FGS) used during academy training and graduation. The FETC/FLETC materials and ICE handbooks describe completing initial and final versions of these practical exercises (PAA/FGS) as part of training progression and graduation requirements [2] [3]. Agency guidance says selectees must pass the initial assessments and then again before graduating the HSI Academy [1] [2].
3. Purpose and design: job-related, standard-setting tests
ICE frames the fitness requirements as “job-related” and designed to predict an applicant’s ability to perform physically demanding tasks such as control and restraint techniques or coordinated movements in enforcement scenarios [1] [2]. That rationale appears across DHS/FLETC/ICE materials: the practical assessments (PAA/FGS) simulate physical tasks officers will face and set minimum performance needed for safe progression through training and into the field [2] [3].
4. Retesting and graduation: the tests are gating events
ICE materials make clear the PFT/PAA are gating events: selectees must take and pass them upon entering the academy and again to graduate, meaning passing at selection does not exempt a trainee from meeting the same or higher standards later in the program [1] [3]. The DHS media guidance repeats recommendation language to prepare and train to the standards prior to testing [4].
5. Reporting and controversy: public attention does not change standards described by ICE
Recent press pieces (outside ICE’s own releases) have reported recruits failing academy fitness tests and DHS responses affirming that all recruits must meet Physical Ability Assessment standards as a condition of employment [5]. Those journalistic accounts postdate or sit alongside agency documents but do not alter the agency-published requirement that applicants meet event minimums and that trainees retake PFT/PAA to graduate [1] [3] [5].
6. What the available sources do not say
The provided materials do not list the precise numeric cutoffs for each PFT event (for example, run time, pushup count, sit-up count, or mile threshold) in the excerpts shown (available sources do not mention exact numeric standards). The documents in the search results reference minimums and the need to “meet or exceed each event’s minimum standards,” but the specific numbers are not provided in the retrieved snippets [1] [3] [4].
7. How applicants should prepare — explicit agency guidance
ICE and DHS videos explicitly recommend candidates train to the standards ahead of testing and emphasize the standards are predictive of academy success [4] [1]. Practical guidance across the materials suggests applicants treat the assessments as job-related performance measures and prepare for both initial selection tests and later academy PAA/FGS retesting [1] [2].
Limitations and sourcing note: This analysis relies solely on the ICE/DHS/FLETC materials and related reporting in the search results set. The exact event-by-event numeric cutoffs are not included in the retrieved snippets; for those figures, consult ICE’s full PFT page or the complete HSI handbook referenced by the agency [1] [3].