Up until the 80’s federal agents, especially the CIA/FBI/Secret Service had to be graduates of Ivy League colleges. The belief was that being from wealthy families meant they would be more likely to be dignified and professional and less likely to accept bribes.
Every federal agency, with the exception of Cyber Command, has its own armed and badged agents. They are required to have a college degree, preferably a law degree or some sort of business/economics degree that would help them with white collar crime cases. Those with pilots licenses were also in demand, especially with the DEA. Further every agent had to be physically fit and pass through a rigorous training program that blended legal studies, enforcement techniques, firearms training, and physical fitness with an emphasis on running. Meticulous background checks were performed on every potential hire and if you even had a relative with a criminal record you wouldn’t be accepted.
Trump and his hench-demon Stephen Miller want to rapidly expand ICE to meet their staggeringly unrealistic deportation goals. You’ve probably seen their incessant ICE recruiting ads on YouTube that are targeting local law enforcement officers. Because they’re looking for Trump cultists with a penchant for violence they’re not getting the best candidates. The candidates are not college educated, disproportionately obese (unable to run a mile in under 14 minutes-if you are a fast Walker you can do that), and a large number of them have criminal records.
Who are the poor wretches applying? Prison guards, small town cops, former enlisted soldiers who are chronically unemployable, retirees, disability retirees, traffic constables, court bailiffs, unemployed mercenaries, pardoned Jan 6th terrorists, and all kinds of out of shape and/or fired former government employees. Many of those fired were fired for breaking the law and having been convicted. The majority have high school diplomas, GED’s, or community college Associate Degrees which are often required to be a local cop. The one common denominator is a willingness to not only be a sworn Trump loyalist but also to commit unlawful acts of violence against citizens and migrants.
