A Third of New ICE Recruits Fail Fitness Test That Includes 15 Push-Ups and a 1.5-Mile Run: Report

More than one in three new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recruits are failing the agency's basic fitness test, according to a new sprawling report by The Atlantic.

The test, administered at ICE's training academy in Brunswick, Georgia, requires recruits to complete 15 push-ups, 32 sit-ups, and a 1.5-mile run in under 14 minutes. Four ICE officials told the outlet that over a third of trainees have failed, prompting concern among senior staff about the physical readiness of incoming officers.

"It's pathetic," one longtime official told The Atlantic, adding that the agency had already relaxed standards to attract more applicants. An internal email obtained by the outlet described "a considerable amount of athletically allergic candidates" who had misrepresented their fitness levels on application forms. ICE operations official Ralph Ferguson wrote that the agency's "self-certification method has failed," directing field offices to pre-screen candidates before sending them to the academy.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) disputed the scope of the problem, saying the reported failure rate applied only to "a subset of candidates" and that most new deportation officers would come from experienced law enforcement backgrounds.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said 85% of new hires would be "fast-tracked" without undergoing the physical test, though they remain "subject to medical, fitness, and background requirements."

The Trump administration has shortened ICE's basic training program from roughly four months to eight weeks to speed up recruitment, as reported back in August by The Associated Press.

The agency, which plans to add 10,000 officers by January, is offering $50,000 signing bonuses and other incentives such as student-loan forgiveness. Those efforts are funded by more than $76 billion allocated to ICE under Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill — a spending package that dramatically expanded the agency's budget.

The fitness shortfall comes amid a broader recruitment drive that includes a national ad campaign launched last month. ICE has spent over $6.5 million on television ads in major U.S. cities encouraging local police officers to "join the mission" to arrest what the campaign calls "the worst of the worst." Critics warn the large financial incentives could draw recruits away from local police departments already struggling to fill positions.

At the same time, ICE has been ramping up operations and training amid expectations of more confrontations during deportations. The same August AP report revealed that the agency is issuing combat helmets, gas masks, and riot gear to recruits and deploying Special Response Teams to accompany officers during arrests.

"We're not gonna allow people to throw rocks anymore," ICE acting director Todd Lyons said at the time, noting that new officers are being trained to respond to increasingly volatile encounters.

Despite recruitment challenges, DHS maintains that Trump's hiring target remains "on track." ICE has received more than 175,000 applications, though officials told The Atlantic that many applicants have applied for multiple positions. "We can't afford to waste slots at the academy with recruits who can't even do push-ups," one senior ICE official said.