Can ICE agents carry personal firearms during off-duty hours?
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
Yes — ICE officers can carry personally owned firearms off duty, but only if those weapons are on an ICE‑approved list and the officer has followed agency inspection, qualification and authorization procedures; off‑duty shootings by ICE personnel are still rare but have occurred and trigger internal and federal reviews [1] [2] [3].
1. How the policy actually allows personal guns
ICE maintains an approved list of personally owned firearms that agents may carry, and employees who want to use a privately owned weapon for duty or off‑duty carry must have that weapon inspected and approved by ICE’s firearms unit and follow procedures laid out in the agency firearms handbook and related guidance [1] [2].
2. Training, qualification and control requirements
Agents authorized to carry a personally owned firearm must qualify with that weapon on a recurring schedule and comply with the ICE Firearms and Use of Force Handbook and related policies governing training, proficiency and use of force; the agency’s materials emphasize recurring qualification and the authority of firearms programs to review and amend approvals [4] [2] [1].
3. Limits, revocation and agency oversight
Authorization is not unconditional: the handbook and ICE policy make clear that the authority to carry can be suspended or revoked, that only “Authorized Officers” may carry ICE‑approved firearms, and that loss, theft or misuse of firearms is subject to review by OFTP/Firearms committees and potentially the Office of Professional Responsibility [2] [1].
4. Off‑duty incidents and accountability questions
Reporting shows that officers have discharged weapons while off duty in a minority of cases — Business Insider counted multiple shootings where agents were off duty — and ICE uses an internal Firearms and Use of Force Incident Review process while DHS/OIG can also investigate shootings, producing scrutiny but also critiques about secrecy and limited external accountability compared with local police oversight [3] [5].
5. The statutory and policy context that allows federal carry
Federal law and Department regulations authorize federal immigration officers to carry firearms in the performance of duties and under regulations set by the Attorney General, which agencies like ICE translate into agency‑specific rules about which weapons are permitted and when they may be used, including prohibitions and narrow exceptions for uses such as firing at moving vehicles [6] [7] [3].
6. Competing perspectives and practical takeaways
Supporters argue that authorized off‑duty carry lets trained federal agents protect themselves and the public when not on a shift, provided they meet the qualification and approval rules that ICE sets [1] [2]; critics counter that off‑duty shootings and limited local oversight raise questions about transparency, consistency and whether federal policies and reviews are sufficient to prevent misuse or to assure public trust [3] [5]. The available ICE documents make clear the framework: personal firearms are permitted only within a tightly managed, agency‑approved system, but public reporting shows that off‑duty incidents have occurred and trigger internal and federal review [1] [3] [2].