Laura Jedeed tested ICE recruitment process and was offered a job despite her opposition to the agency and missing required paperwork.
Journalist Tests ICE Recruitment Process
Laura Jedeed, a journalist associated with publications including “Slate,” published an article on January 13 detailing her experience with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recruitment process. She noted her CV might have been “attractive” due to her military service background. However, she pointed out there is only one “Laura Jedeed” online, and it takes about five seconds of Google searching to discover her views on ICE, the Trump administration, and the right wing in general.
Despite this, she attended ICE Career Expo in Texas in August where new officers were being recruited. There, she was immediately invited for a recruitment interview, which she described as consisting only of basic questions: name, date of birth, age, whether she had military or law enforcement experience, and why she left service.
In early September, she received an email with a preliminary offer asking for her driver’s license information, any previous domestic violence convictions, and consent for a background check. Jedeed admitted she didn’t meet any of these requirements, yet three weeks later she received another email thanking her for participating in the recruitment process and indicating the next stage. She was asked to take a drug test, which she did, though she acknowledged using marijuana about six days before the test.
DHS Denies Job Offer Was Made
Jedeed accused ICE of not properly vetting who they allow into service. “If they missed that I opposed ICE actions and didn’t complete the documents, what else might they have missed? How many convicted of domestic violence are being given weapons and sent to the streets? How many people associated with organizations talking about white supremacy attack minorities indiscriminately, regardless of their immigration status?” she asked.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, responded to her article. “This is a ridiculous lie. This person was NEVER offered a job at ICE” was posted on X. It was added that candidates may receive a response after applying and having an interview that they have been preliminarily qualified, but this does not mean acceptance into service. “It only means they are invited to submit further information for verification,” the statement added.
Jedeed Provides Evidence of Offer
The journalist responded to DHS’s claims and posted online a recording showing the ICE recruitment system and her application. It shows that her application reached the “final offer” stage and she was proposed a start date for service.
ICE Actions Spark Protests in USA
Donald Trump, after beginning his second term, announced mass deportations. As described by BBC, the current administration has significantly expanded the scope of actions by immigration services. ICE is mainly responsible for investigations into undocumented immigration and handles deportation of people in the United States without proper documentation.
However, the service’s activities have been controversial for many months and have sparked numerous protests. Recordings appear online that allegedly show aggressive behavior by officers during operations. The situation escalated in early January of this year when an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in Minnesota. The woman was a U.S. citizen, and witnesses claimed she did not pose a threat to officers, though DHS claims otherwise.
After the woman’s death, further protests erupted across the country. On Wednesday (January 14), clashes occurred between ICE and protesters after an agent shot a man in the leg during his arrest operation (according to DHS, the man was in the U.S. illegally).
