Rep. Sykes calls for heightened training for ICE officers before they can be deployed
WASHINGTON - Immigration officers would be required to complete annual scenario-based training in de-escalation, crisis intervention, and other areas, and meet minimum training requirements before they can undertake enforcement duties under a new legislative proposal from U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes.
The Akron Democrat’s “Critical Operation Oversight of Law Enforcement Intervention and Training Act,” or the COOL IT Act, is a response to complaints that ICE dramatically shortened its training program for new recruits — from a previous standard of roughly 100 days down to 42 days — as the agency nearly doubled its officer corps to approximately 22,000 agents.
Her legislation would also amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to require that “an immigration officer or employee shall be required to complete not less than 67 days of training” before performing immigration enforcement duties. ICE is reportedly preparing to end its shortened training program and return to a 72-day training regimen for new hires.
Concerns about ICE officers’ training standards rose to the fore after high profile incidents during recent immigration crackdowns, including the January 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis woman, by an ICE agent during an enforcement operation.
Sykes’ bill, which was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, would give the Secretary of Homeland Security 90 days from enactment to develop the training curriculum the law requires. The curriculum would be required to address improving community-police relations, officer safety, officer resilience, situational awareness, physical and emotional responses to stress, critical decision-making and problem-solving, de-escalation, use of force and deadly force, and crisis intervention.
DHS would be required to consult with “relevant professional law enforcement associations, community-based organizations, and defense and national security agencies” in developing and disseminating the curriculum, and to provide technical assistance to agencies seeking to implement it. The department would also be required to “evaluate best practices of scenario-based training methods and curriculum content to maintain state-of-the-art expertise in scenario-based learning methodology” and to develop a certification process for officers who complete the training.
A report to Congress would be due within 180 days of enactment covering the benefits and barriers to delivering the curriculum and recommendations for improving officer access to scenario-based training.
“In high-pressure situations, proper training can make all the difference,” Sykes said in a statement accompanying the bill’s introduction. “This bill is about reducing unnecessary conflict, improving outcomes, and raising standards for everyone involved.”
The bill received an endorsement from Third Way, a center-left think tank.
“Americans deserve immigration enforcement that is serious, disciplined, and worthy of public confidence,” said Sarah Pierce, Third Way’s Director of Social Policy. “That starts with making sure every officer carrying out immigration enforcement — whether federal, state, or local — is trained for the actual situations they will face in the field.”
By: Sabrina Eaton
Source: Cleveland.com