Takeaways from AP’s review of recent criminal cases against ICE employees and contractors

Since 2020, at least two dozen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees and contractors have been charged with crimes ranging from physical and sexual abuse to corruption, according to an investigation by The Associated Press. The pattern of misconduct raises concerns as the agency undergoes rapid expansion following last year’s congressional allocation of $75 billion to hire more agents and increase detention capabilities.

The troubling cases emerge as ICE announced last month that it has doubled in size to 22,000 employees in less than a year. This aggressive growth mirrors a similar expansion of the U.S. Border Patrol between 2004 and 2011, which was followed by numerous corruption and misconduct cases among newly hired agents.

“America can be proud of the professionalism our officers bring to the job day-in and day-out,” said Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, who emphasized that misconduct is not widespread within ICE. McLaughlin noted that most new hires come from other law enforcement agencies and undergo thorough background checks.

However, former U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske warned that ICE could face even more serious problems than those experienced by Border Patrol. He pointed to specific vulnerabilities around excessive force, particularly when agents conduct enforcement operations amid protests. With ICE detention populations swelling to 70,000, opportunities for misconduct by those supervising detainees have multiplied.

The AP investigation revealed at least nine arrests of ICE personnel in the past year alone. In Cincinnati, an assistant ICE field office supervisor has been jailed since December after a judge determined he posed a public safety risk for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend over several years.

Sexual misconduct charges have been particularly troubling. In Minnesota, two ICE employees faced federal charges related to underage girls. An employment eligibility auditor was arrested in a sting operation, while an ICE investigator pleaded guilty to sending images and videos showing himself having sex with a 17-year-old girl whose information he had accessed through law enforcement databases.

Outside Chicago, two ICE agents face charges for off-duty incidents connected to their work. One allegedly assaulted a protester who was filming him at a gas station, while another was cited for driving under the influence shortly after leaving work with his government firearm in the vehicle.

A disturbing pattern of mistreatment toward detainees also emerged from the investigation. In February, a former senior official at a Texas ICE contract facility received probation after admitting to grabbing a handcuffed detainee by the neck and slamming him into a wall. Prosecutors had reduced the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor.

In another case, an ICE contractor in Louisiana pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a Nicaraguan detainee over five months in 2025, reportedly instructing other detainees to serve as lookouts during these encounters.

Financial corruption has also plagued the agency. A Houston deportation officer was indicted last year for allegedly accepting cash bribes from bail bondsmen to remove ICE detainers from their clients. He has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of bribery. In Utah, two ICE investigators received prison sentences for stealing synthetic drugs from government custody and selling them through informants, a scheme that reportedly netted them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Experts note that while misconduct occurs in most law enforcement agencies, ICE’s extraordinary growth and mission to deport millions create unprecedented challenges. The immense power that officers wield over vulnerable populations, coupled with the agency’s rapid expansion and increasingly aggressive tactics, creates conditions where abuse of authority can flourish if proper oversight mechanisms aren’t maintained.

As the agency continues its unprecedented growth, these cases highlight the critical importance of rigorous hiring standards, comprehensive training, and robust accountability measures to prevent further instances of misconduct among those entrusted with significant authority over vulnerable populations.