Dozens of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees have been charged with crimes ranging from physical assault to bribery since 2020, raising concerns about oversight as the agency rapidly expands its workforce, an Associated Press investigation has revealed.

At least 24 ICE employees and contractors have faced criminal charges in recent years, with documented wrongdoing including patterns of physical and sexual abuse, corruption, and other abuses of authority. The investigation comes as ICE has more than doubled its workforce to 22,000 employees in less than a year, following Congressional approval of $75 billion for hiring more agents and detaining more people.

Experts warn that these crimes could increase given the surge in new employees and their authorization to use aggressive tactics for arrests and deportations. The Trump administration has further emboldened agents by arguing they possess “absolute immunity” for their on-duty actions while simultaneously weakening oversight mechanisms.

“Once a person is hired, brought on, goes through the training and they are not the right person, it is difficult to get rid of them and there will be a price to be paid later down the road by everyone,” said Gil Kerlikowske, former commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2014 to 2017.

While misconduct exists in most law enforcement agencies, ICE’s rapid expansion and mandate to deport millions creates unprecedented circumstances. The AP review found that the extensive power officers wield over vulnerable populations can lead to serious abuses.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the agency, stating that wrongdoing is not widespread and that ICE “takes allegations of misconduct by its employees extremely seriously.” She emphasized that most new hires previously worked for other law enforcement agencies and undergo thorough background checks.

The situation echoes problems faced by the Border Patrol when it doubled in size between 2004 and 2011, experiencing a wave of corruption, abuse, and misconduct among new hires. Experts suggest ICE’s issues could be broader in scope, with less oversight and accountability.

“The corruption and the abuse and the misconduct was largely confined in the prior instance to along the border and interactions with immigrants and border state residents. With ICE, this is going to be a countrywide phenomenon as they pull in so many people who are attracted to this mission,” said David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute.

The AP’s review examined public records of ICE employees and contractors arrested since 2020, including at least 17 who have been convicted and six others awaiting trial. Nine have been charged in the last year alone, including an agent recently cited for assaulting a protester near Chicago while off-duty.

Notable cases include a 20-year ICE veteran supervisor in Cincinnati charged with attempting to strangle his girlfriend after years of abuse that included fracturing her hip and nose. Another case involved an ICE employment eligibility auditor arrested in Minnesota for attempting to meet a person he believed was a 17-year-old prostitute.

The investigation revealed disturbing patterns of misconduct, with several cases involving the mistreatment of vulnerable detainees. A former official at an ICE contract facility in Texas was sentenced to probation after admitting he grabbed a handcuffed detainee by the neck and slammed him into a wall. In Louisiana, an ICE contractor pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a Nicaraguan detainee over a five-month period.

Corruption cases were also prevalent, with a Houston deportation officer indicted last summer for allegedly accepting cash bribes to remove detention orders on people targeted for deportation. Two Utah-based ICE investigators were sentenced to prison for stealing and selling synthetic drugs through government informants, netting hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The misconduct often included ICE officials using their badges and positions to avoid consequences. In 2022, a 22-year ICE veteran supervisor was arrested in Washington state after driving his government vehicle to meet who he thought was a 13-year-old girl for paid sex. He carried his ICE badge and loaded government firearm, and attempted to claim he was conducting a human trafficking investigation.

As ICE’s detainee population has nearly doubled to 70,000 since last year, the increased responsibilities and challenging conditions provide more opportunities for misconduct. With federal officials justifying more aggressive enforcement, agents’ behavior is facing growing scrutiny from observers and prosecutors, particularly in Democratic-led jurisdictions.

The pattern of misconduct presents a stark contrast to ICE’s public image campaign, which has spent millions publicizing the criminal records of those they arrest as the “worst of the worst.”