Many Ice Agents Have Criminal Records Search: Cases & Public Records

What the verified evidence shows

How Many ICE Agents Have Criminal Records in 2026?

The available evidence does not support one precise number for every current ICE agent with a criminal history.

ICE’s public enforcement statistics report criminal convictions and pending charges among people arrested or detained by immigration authorities. Those figures do not describe the criminal records of ICE’s own employees.

The agency also does not publish a comprehensive public roster identifying every currently serving agent and the outcome of any criminal proceedings involving that employee.

Verified figures from the Associated Press

Source: Associated Press, February 11, 2026.

Does that mean only 24 ICE personnel have faced charges?

No. The AP number is a documented minimum from the cases reporters found and verified.

It does not establish that all other cases were identified, nor does it include every possible unreported, sealed or otherwise inaccessible criminal proceeding.

It also does not tell us how many people from the reviewed group remained employed by ICE in October 2026.

Can we calculate a percentage using ICE’s workforce size?

Not reliably.

ICE reported approximately 22,000 employees following its rapid hiring expansion in early 2026, according to AP reporting.

But that is a workforce figure at a particular time. It is not the number of agents who worked for ICE continuously throughout 2020–2026, nor does it include all contractors in the same way as the criminal-case sample.

Dividing the AP count of 24 by 22,000 would mix different populations and time periods and produce a misleading percentage.

What the investigation actually found

Associated Press Investigation: ICE Employees Charged With Crimes Since 2020

On February 11, 2026, the Associated Press published an investigation examining criminal cases involving ICE employees and contractors.

The journalists reviewed public criminal records and reported examples involving violence, sexual misconduct, corruption and misuse of official authority.

The investigation included current and former employees as well as people employed by private contractors performing ICE-related work.

The main findings

• At least two dozen charged: AP identified 24 or more ICE employees and contractors who faced criminal charges since 2020.
• At least 17 convicted: Reported criminal cases included convictions, not merely accusations.
• Six awaiting trial: Other cases had not resulted in final convictions at the time of the investigation.
• Multiple kinds of offenses: Cases included misconduct involving detainees, off-duty criminal allegations, bribery and other offenses.
• Not limited to inexperienced recruits: Some serious cases involved veteran ICE employees or supervisors.

What did ICE say in response?

The Department of Homeland Security disputed any suggestion that misconduct was widespread throughout ICE.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told AP that the agency took employee misconduct allegations seriously and said new hires were thoroughly vetted.

The AP also quoted former law-enforcement officials who raised concerns about misconduct risks during rapid workforce expansion.

Those perspectives concern the prevalence and potential causes of misconduct. Neither establishes an agency-wide criminal-conviction rate.

Examples with their legal status identified

Documented Criminal Cases Involving ICE Employees and Contractors

The following examples illustrate different types of public cases reported by AP. They should not be treated as a complete list of every criminal case involving an ICE worker.

Federal law-enforcement hiring standards

Do ICE Agents Have to Pass Criminal Background Checks?

Yes. ICE law-enforcement hiring involves background investigation and suitability screening.

ICE’s official hiring materials describe a process that may include:

• Verification of qualifications and employment history
• Background investigation
• Review of criminal-history information
• Drug testing
• Medical examination
• Physical fitness testing for applicable positions
• Structured interviews
• Additional screening based on the position and investigative findings

ICE states that polygraph examinations are risk-based, meaning they may be required when issues identified during a background investigation warrant additional examination.

Does any criminal record automatically disqualify someone?

Not necessarily for every federal job.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management explains that a prior criminal record is not an automatic bar to most federal employment.

Suitability determinations may consider:

• The nature of the offense
• Its seriousness and circumstances
• How long ago it occurred
• Evidence of rehabilitation
• Relevance to the proposed duties
• Applicable legal restrictions
• The position’s security and public-trust requirements

However, a law-enforcement position involving firearms, sensitive information or other official authority may have stricter statutory or job-specific eligibility rules.

What about domestic violence convictions?

Federal firearms law restricts possession of firearms and ammunition by people with qualifying misdemeanor domestic violence convictions.

ICE’s own special-agent self-assessment materials identify a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction as disqualifying for that criminal investigator position.

This is an example of why a criminal record may matter differently for an armed federal law-enforcement position than for an unrelated civilian federal job.

2026 background-screening concerns

Did ICE Hire Some New Officers Before Completing Background Checks?

Yes, according to reporting published by the Associated Press in 2026 and statements obtained from the Department of Homeland Security.

A separate AP investigation examined the backgrounds of more than 40 newly hired ICE officers whose new employment was publicly identifiable.

The investigation reported some past financial difficulties, civil misconduct allegations and employment-history concerns.

DHS acknowledged that some applicants had been allowed to begin work in a temporary status before their full background investigations were completed.

DHS maintained that vetting continued and that it remained committed to professional standards.

What did that investigation establish?

The sample was not a representative statistical survey of every ICE employee. It was investigative reporting based on identifiable cases and available public records.

Understanding the agencies and workers being counted

ICE Agents vs. Border Patrol Agents vs. Detention Contractors

Many online discussions use the phrase “ICE agents” for different types of immigration enforcement personnel.

For accurate criminal-record statistics, these classifications must be distinguished.

Why this distinction changes the numbers

Suppose a report identifies cases involving five ICE deportation officers, three HSI agents, two detention contractors and two Border Patrol agents.

That hypothetical report would involve 12 people connected to immigration or border enforcement, but it would not establish that 12 current federal ICE agents have criminal convictions.

Employment status, agency affiliation, legal outcome and the date of the case would have to be evaluated separately.

Official public criminal court case research

How to Search Criminal Cases Involving ICE Employees

There is no national public search engine where someone can enter “ICE agents” and retrieve every employee’s complete criminal history.

However, researchers can locate specific public criminal prosecutions through official court records, federal court filings and published government investigation reports.

1. Search federal criminal court records using PACER

The federal judiciary’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service provides access to eligible federal criminal case dockets.

The nationwide PACER Case Locator can identify federal courts that have cases matching the search criteria.

1. Identify a documented criminal proceeding

   Begin with an official charging announcement, court case number or reliable published report. Avoid broad speculation about unnamed employees.

2. Open PACER

   Register for a federal court records account if you do not already have one.

3. Use the PACER Case Locator

   Search for the documented case using accurate party names or other supported criteria.

4. Identify the federal district

   Find the U.S. District Court where the prosecution was filed.

5. Open the criminal docket

   Review publicly available charges, proceedings, motions and court orders.

6. Find the latest disposition

   Check whether the defendant was convicted, acquitted, had charges dismissed, pleaded guilty or still awaits trial.

7. Review subsequent developments

   Look for a sentence, appeal, revised judgment or later court order that affects the case’s status.

Federal PACER fees in October 2026

The federal judiciary currently lists:

• $0.10 per page for ordinary case-record access.
• $3 maximum for many individual documents.
• Quarterly fees waived when the account incurs $30 or less during the quarter.
• Free published judicial opinions and free onsite document viewing through federal courthouse terminals.

PACER has announced changes to its fees beginning January 1, 2027, so researchers using the service later should verify the current schedule.

2. Check the appropriate state criminal court

Not every criminal case involving an ICE employee is prosecuted in federal court.

Off-duty assault, domestic violence, impaired driving and other matters may be prosecuted under state law.

For those cases:

1. Identify the state and county where the criminal case was filed.
2. Find the official county or state court case-search system.
3. Search the specific public case using the available legal identifiers.
4. Check the charge-by-charge disposition.
5. Obtain a certified judgment if official proof of the outcome is necessary.

Public access differs by state. Some courts offer free name searches, others require fees, and sealed or otherwise restricted cases may not appear.

3. Search Department of Justice announcements

The U.S. Department of Justice publishes prosecution announcements, guilty pleas, convictions and sentencing releases involving public corruption and other federal offenses.

DOJ releases can help identify the district, case background and charges involved.

However, a press release announcing an indictment is not proof of a conviction.

4. Review DHS Inspector General investigation reports

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General investigates certain misconduct and publishes reports and investigative summaries.

Official investigation reports can establish whether a documented allegation, arrest or administrative finding occurred.

A public investigative summary does not necessarily include the complete criminal case history or the final trial result.

Obtaining agency-wide records and statistics

Can a FOIA Request Reveal How Many ICE Agents Have Criminal Records?

The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows the public to request existing records from federal agencies, subject to statutory exemptions.

A carefully worded request can seek aggregate employee misconduct statistics, publicly releasable disciplinary information or existing agency reports.

However, a FOIA request does not guarantee that ICE maintains the specific total being sought or that confidential personnel records will be released.

What information could a records request reasonably seek?

• Annual numbers of ICE employees referred for criminal investigation
• Counts of substantiated misconduct findings, where an existing report records them
• Numbers of administrative referrals to prosecutors
• Existing annual Office of Professional Responsibility reports
• Aggregate personnel disciplinary statistics, where maintained and releasable
• Policies for employee background investigations and continuous vetting
• Existing reports describing criminal-history screening exceptions or failures

These measures are not necessarily equivalent to criminal convictions, and each should be labeled by its actual definition.

How to submit a federal records request

1. Open FOIA.gov

   Start with the federal government’s official FOIA information and request website.

2. Identify the correct agency

   Select U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement within the Department of Homeland Security, or a different federal agency if it maintains the requested record.

3. Describe existing records precisely

   Specify the date range, program office, report type and aggregate information sought.

4. Request nonidentifying statistics where practical

   Aggregate records may help answer workforce questions without requiring disclosure of private personnel files.

5. Submit through the authorized request procedure

   Follow the selected agency’s filing instructions and retain the tracking number.

6. Review the agency’s response

   The agency may release responsive records, redact protected material, identify that no responsive record was found, or cite an applicable exemption.

Example of a more useful FOIA request

This is a sample request for existing records, not evidence that the agency maintains or will disclose all of the described statistics.

Official reporting and accountability channels

How to Report Alleged Criminal Misconduct by an ICE Employee

ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is responsible for investigating qualifying allegations of employee and contractor misconduct and maintaining professional standards.

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General also accepts complaints involving fraud, abuse, violations of law and certain other misconduct within DHS programs.

What should a misconduct report include?

Where available, a complaint should include:

• Accurate date, time and location of the incident
• The law-enforcement agency or unit involved, if known
• A factual description of what occurred
• Names or contact information for available witnesses
• Any lawfully obtained video, documents or other supporting evidence
• Information about any previous report to law enforcement or oversight authorities

The official DHS OIG complaint form provides options relating to confidentiality and anonymous reporting.

Making a complaint is not the same as filing a criminal charge, and opening an investigation does not establish that the allegation is true.

A commonly confused statistic

ICE Agents With Criminal Records vs. People Arrested by ICE

Some widely circulated statistics concern the criminal records of people arrested by ICE, not the criminal histories of ICE officers.

These are entirely different populations.

What do ICE arrest statistics measure?

ICE enforcement statistics commonly divide people arrested or detained into groups such as:

• People with recorded U.S. criminal convictions
• People with pending U.S. criminal charges
• People without recorded convictions or pending charges

The legal circumstances of immigration enforcement may still involve civil immigration violations or criminal offenses not captured by an ordinary conviction-only category.

Example: 2025 ICE arrest data

In January 2026, FactCheck.org published an analysis of ICE arrests from January 20 through October 15, 2025.

Its analysis found that approximately:

• 36.5% of those arrested had prior criminal convictions.
• 29.8% had pending criminal charges.
• Approximately one-third had neither category recorded.

Those percentages refer to people arrested by ICE within the defined analysis period.

They do not describe ICE officers, ICE employee applicants or detention contractors.

FactCheck.org — January 2026 ICE Arrest Data Analysis

What remains unknown

Why Isn’t There a Reliable Percentage of ICE Agents With Criminal Records?

Calculating a meaningful percentage requires both a clearly defined numerator and a compatible denominator.

1. Criminal record is not always defined the same way

One dataset may count arrests, another may count charges, and another may include only convictions.

Using these measures interchangeably changes the result.

2. Personnel categories are different

Reports may include special agents, deportation officers, other federal employees, private detention contractors or former workers.

Those categories cannot automatically be combined into one current-agent count.

3. Records cover different periods

A six-year sample of charges cannot be compared directly with the size of the workforce on a single day.

Personnel may have been hired, resigned, retired, transferred or terminated during that period.

4. Not every personnel record is publicly available

Federal personnel investigations, background checks and disciplinary records are subject to privacy, security and disclosure restrictions.

An agency may also lack one existing public statistical table covering every combination of employee status and criminal-history outcome.

5. A charge can have a later outcome

Cases can end in conviction, acquittal, dismissal, diversion or other legal outcomes.

A count taken before trial cannot automatically be treated as a conviction count after trial.