Anti-ICE journalist 'hired' by agency makes shocking claims about its recruitment process
A journalist has revealed the apparently lax process ICE has when it comes to recruiting new officers.
You'd think that it would be quite an intense process to try get a government job in America, but Laura Jedeed quickly learnt that this wasn't the case.
In August, Jedeed went to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Career Expo in Texas (which she insisted was very empty) to simply learn how to apply to be an ICE agent, when next thing you know she was sharing her resumé with one of the recruiters.
Jedeed started off on good footing as she'd enlisted in the Army straight out of high school and was deployed to Afghanistan twice with the 82nd Airborne Division.
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One thing she did not include on her resumé though was her current occupation as a journalist.
While she omitted this information, Jedeed presumed she wouldn't get very far in the recruitment process as following a quick Google of her name it, would become very clear how she feels about the Trump administration and it's handling of current affairs in America.
One of the first parts of the hiring process saw Jedeed sit down with a woman who asked her a few basic questions, such as if she had military experience and where she'd want to be based if she got a role within ICE.
After six-minutes, she was done, and Jedeed went on to chat to a deportation officer about the jobs available, she explained in an article penned for Slate Magazine.
Fast forward to September 3 and Jedeed received an email telling her she'd already received a tentative offer from ICE.
The email asked her to fill out some forms including a Declaration for Federal Employment, send details of her driver's license for proof of ID, consent to a background check, and so on.
"If you are declining the position, it is not necessary to complete the action items listed below." the email noted.
Because Jedeed was late to reading the email, she presumed that she'd missed the window to send off the forms and didn't do so. But much to her surprise, she later received yet another email thanking her for confirming that she wanted to continue the hiring process.
Along with the email she was asked to do the required pre-employment drug test, something which came at an awkward time for Jedeed since she'd smoked cannabis (which is legal in New York where she lives) a few days prior.
She proceed to still do the test, however, and waited for the failed results to come through — no such results came, however.
Despite not knowing the outcome of her drugs test, Jedeed logged onto USAJobs to find that she'd been offered a job from ICE. This job offer came despite the fact she had not filled out any of the paperwork (which included a background check on her) and her presumed-failed drugs test.
"By all appearances, I was a deportation officer," Jedeed wrote in her Slate Magazine piece. "Without a single signature on agency paperwork, ICE had officially hired me."
She further noted: "Perhaps, if I’d accepted, they would have demanded my pre-employment paperwork, done a basic screening, realized their mistake, and fired me immediately."
Jedeed, of course, went on to decline the offer.
UNILAD has approached ICE for comment.
Topics: Immigration, News, US News
Niamh Shackleton