Anti-Trump journalist Laura Jedeed claims ICE offered her a job after 'minimal vetting'

WASHINGTON, DC: Slate journalist Laura Jedeed has found herself at the center of a growing controversy after documenting what she described as a deeply flawed Immigration and Customs Enforcement hiring process.  She detailed it as one that appeared to move her from application to job offer despite incomplete paperwork and minimal vetting.

The Department of Homeland Security has strongly denied her claims, calling them false, while the journalist and her publication insist documentary evidence supports their account.

The episode has fueled renewed debate over ICE’s recruitment standards, particularly as critics allege the agency has lowered training requirements and accelerated hiring despite long-standing accusations of excessive force and aggressive enforcement practices.

‘Six-minute interview’ at ICE expo

Jedeed attended an ICE Career Expo in August 2025 at the Esports Stadium Arlington outside Dallas, Texas, after scheduling an appointment with a recruiter. 

In an article published this week, she mentioned that her intention was not to seek employment but to understand how ICE recruits officers at a time when the agency is facing heightened criticism.

Her interview, she said, lasted less than six minutes and consisted of basic questions about her name, date of birth, age, military or law enforcement experience, and why she left the US Army.

No detailed background questions, ideological screening, or paperwork were required at that stage.

After high school, Jedeed enlisted in the US Army and served two deployments in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division before working as a civilian analyst.

Now 38, she is openly critical of Donald Trump and identifies as ‘anti-ICE’, which she said she expected would disqualify her during any serious background review.

According to her account, the recruiter told her, “They are prioritizing current law enforcement first. They’re going to adjudicate your resume,” and advised her to wait for an email outlining next steps.

From interview to tentative offer

Before leaving the expo, Jedeed said she spoke with an active deportation officer who explained that new recruits might not “hit the streets right away”.

When she replied that she might prefer a desk-based role, she wrote that the officer’s tone shifted and he replied: “Just to be upfront, the goal is to put as many guns and badges out in the field as possible.”

On September 3, Jedeed said she received an email stating she was being extended a “tentative offer” and instructing her to log into a government jobs portal to complete additional forms.

The documents requested details about her driver’s license, past domestic violence convictions, and consent for a background investigation.

She said she did not complete the forms or upload any documents.

Despite this, she wrote that she received another email roughly three weeks later thanking her for moving forward in the process and asking her to schedule a drug test, which she did despite having used cannabis days earlier.

While speaking at MS NOW, Jedeed said, "I expected them to Google me, and they didn't ... they sent me a final job offer ... what's disturbing is we don't know who is wearing these masks with guns in our city. We don't know if they have domestic violence convictions."

Apparent final offer and rejection

After waiting for further communication, Jedeed said she logged into USAJobs to check her application status. What she found, she wrote, suggested she had progressed beyond a tentative stage.

She claimed the portal showed she had received a final offer, with her onboarding status listed as “Entered on Duty”, despite not submitting key documents, including a domestic violence affidavit, background check authorization or identification details.

Jedeed said she declined the offer, acknowledging that it could have been the result of a technical or administrative error. However, she argued the incident pointed to deeper problems in ICE’s recruitment system.

“But if they missed the fact that I was an anti-ICE journalist who didn’t fill out her paperwork, what else might they be missing? How many convicted domestic abusers are being given guns and sent into other people’s homes? How many people with ties to white supremacist organizations are indiscriminately targeting minorities on principle, regardless of immigration status,” she wrote.

DHS pushes back on journalist's claim

The Department of Homeland Security publicly rejected Jedeed’s account on January 14, responding to her social media post about the article.

“This is such a lazy lie. This individual was NEVER offered a job at ICE. Applicants may receive a Tentative Selection Letter following their initial application and interview that is not a job offer. It just means they are invited to submit information for review, similar to any other applicant,” DHS wrote on X.

Jedeed disputed the explanation, posting a video she said showed her application had reached the final offer stage. “The screengrab video I posted in response clearly shows a final offer and onboarding date, which I interpreted to mean a final offer and onboarding date,” she told the Guardian, adding that ICE did not respond to a request for comment.

Jedeed said her decision to document the process was driven by broader concerns about ICE’s role and conduct.

Critics of the agency have long accused ICE of excessive force and aggressive tactics, while reports in recent years have claimed training periods for deportation officers were shortened under the Trump administration to accelerate hiring.

ICE has sought to rapidly expand its workforce, with recruiters advertising immediate openings and emphasizing prior military or law enforcement experience as a key qualification.

According to recruitment materials cited in the article, candidates are typically required to be US citizens, pass medical and drug screenings, clear background checks, and complete agency training before deployment.

Jedeed argued that her experience raised questions about whether those standards are consistently enforced. “If I were the DHS, I would probably be concerned about the security implications of the story rather than immediately dismissing the problem out of hand,” she told the Guardian.

Slate spokesperson Katie Rayford said the outlet stood by its reporting, stating, “We stand by our reporting, which reveals minimal vetting in ICE’s hiring process. Evidence, including video documentation, shows the journalist who reported this story advanced through multiple hiring stages beyond the ‘tentative selection letter,’ including receiving a final offer letter and being given a start date.”