The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement hired at least 19 officers with histories of misconduct, criminal charges, or other employment red flags during its rapid expansion under the Trump administration.

A review of records exposed in a late October hack of a Department of Homeland Security employee database revealed the details. The breach disclosed information on roughly 1,500 ICE officers and agents hired since President Trump took office in January 2025. The Post examined about 300 of those new hires using public records searches and found the 19 cases involving misconduct allegations, use-of-force incidents, lawsuits that ended in settlements, or prior firings.

At least five of the officers had been involved in use-of-force incidents in previous law enforcement roles. Five others were named in lawsuits that resulted in settlements. In at least six cases, the individuals had been fired, decertified, or resigned under threat of dismissal from prior positions. The leaked data represents a small fraction of the approximately 12,000 officers DHS said it had hired as of January.

Specific examples included a former Detroit police officer who fatally shot a fleeing teenage suspect in 2021, leading to a $2.5 million settlement, and a former New York Police Department detective who pleaded guilty to petty larceny after an incident involving stolen champagne. Another case involved an Arkansas officer fired after a supervisor raised concerns about unreasonable anger toward civilians.

Former DHS Inspector General John Roth, who reviewed anonymized summaries of the cases, described the list of conduct as troubling and said the individuals had no business carrying a gun and badge in federal service absent exculpatory facts. Three independent experts consulted by the Post reached similar conclusions about weak vetting or relaxed standards during the hiring surge.

The agency offered signing bonuses of up to $50,000 as part of efforts to bolster enforcement amid mass deportation priorities. Some new officers have already faced issues on the job, including involvement in shootings, and the agency has dismissed others after discovering background problems post-hire.

The Post noted that DHS has long withheld officer names to protect them from harassment. The findings come as the administration has accelerated immigration enforcement operations.