How many ICE recruits were dismissed in training and for what specific reasons, according to public agency data?

1. What the public agency data says about the scale: over 200 recruits dismissed

ICE’s own personnel figures—summarized in reporting that reviewed agency data—show that since the summer hiring surge the agency has dismissed "more than 200" new recruits while they were already enrolled in training, a concrete tally that anchors the broader reporting about a troubled fast-track recruitment effort ^[1].

2. The specific reasons ICE lists: drug tests, criminal-history vetting, fitness, academics, medical problems

The dismissals tracked in the agency data and in contemporaneous reporting break down into specific categories: some recruits failed drug testing; others were found to have disqualifying criminal backgrounds during continuing vetting; a group failed to meet academic or physical-fitness standards at the academy; and some were removed for medical issues discovered during training ^{[1] [3]}. Reporting also notes recruits had failed to submit fingerprints or complete other required vetting steps prior to—or while in—the training program, which triggered administrative removals ^[2].

3. Fitness failures: a large and visible subset of dismissals

Multiple outlets cite an internal assessment from one ICE training site in which "more than a third" of new recruits failed a basic physical standard—15 push-ups, 32 sit-ups and a 1.5-mile run in 14 minutes—making physical-fitness failures a significant component of the overall dismissals and a visible operational problem for the accelerated hiring plan ^{[2] [3]}.

4. Vetting sequence and procedural anomalies that contributed to dismissals

The reporting describes an atypical sequence in which some applicants were placed into the six-week training course before completing all pre-training vetting steps, a shortcut that led to later discoveries—failed drug tests, criminal-record hits, or missing fingerprints—while recruits were already in the academy, forcing mid-training dismissals ^{[3] [2]}. ICE policy, as noted in coverage, nominally requires drug testing and security checks prior to entry into training, which makes these after-the-fact dismissals notable ^[1].

5. Context and competing explanations: speed, scale, and political incentives

These dismissals occur amid an aggressive, high-profile recruitment campaign tied to a political goal of rapidly adding roughly 10,000 deportation officers, backed by large bonuses and a national media push—factors that created pressure to convert applicants into trainees quickly and, according to reporting, may have led to shortcuts in vetting and an influx of poorly qualified candidates ^{[4] [5] [2]}. Critics interpret the dismissals as evidence of lax screening or overreach in hiring, while agency officials emphasize "continuous vetting" to remove unsuitable candidates even after they enter training ^{[4] [3]}.

6. Limits of the public record and what remains unreported

The clearest public figure in the available reporting is the "more than 200" recruits dismissed while in training, but the agency data as reported does not provide a transparent, itemized public breakdown by single causes with exact counts per reason; much of the granular cause attribution comes from reporting that reviewed internal messages and anonymous officials rather than a fully public ICE dataset ^{[1] [2]}. Where sources differ—on whether vetting failures reflect systemic process breakdowns or expected results of stepped-up hiring—reporting cites both agency defenses and critical assessments ^{[4] [5]}.

7. Bottom line

According to public-agency data reviewed by journalists, ICE has dismissed more than 200 recruits while they were in training for reasons that include failed drug tests, disqualifying criminal backgrounds uncovered during ongoing vetting, academic and physical-fitness failures, medical issues, and incomplete pre-training vetting like missing fingerprints; the exact numeric breakdown by category is not fully enumerated in the public reporting cited here ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}.