Ryan Schwank is a former ICE attorney who taught the legal curriculum to new deportation officers at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. He resigned from ICE on February 13, 2026, and testified publicly on February 23, 2026. Technically, he appeared at a Democratic-led bicameral congressional forum.

Excerpts from his testimony:

When I joined ICE on August 1st, 2021 as an Assistant Chief Counsel. I followed that oath for 4 1/2 years, working side by side with ICE officers, and I followed it when I resigned on February 13th, 2026, a little over a week ago so that I could speak to you today.

Five months ago, I was asked to teach the law to new cadets at the ICE Academy in Glencoe, Georgia, where ICE is training its new, inexperienced recruits….

On my first day at the Academy, I was instructed to read and return a memo in my supervisor’s presence which claimed ICE officers could enter homes without a judicial warrant….Never in my career had I ever received such a blatant unlawful order, nor 1 conveyed in such a troubling manner. Incredibly, I was being shown this memo in secret by my supervisor, who made sure that I understood that this obedience could cost me my job.

For the last five months, I watched ICE dismantle the training program, cutting 240 hours from 584 hour program classes that teach the Constitution, our legal system, firearms training, the use of force, lawful arrests, proper detention and the limits of officers authority. For example, they ceased all of the legal instructions regarding use of force…..

Our jobs as instructors are to teach them so well that they can make split second decisions about what they can and cannot do in life or death situations. Yet, in the name of churning out an endless stream of officers, DHS leadership has dismantled the academic and practical tasks that we need to know if cadets can safely and lawfully perform their job…..

No reasonable person would believe a training program suddenly cut nearly in half could meet the minimum legal requirements. These aren’t abstract rules. They’re required in regulations such as HCFR 287G1. Congress requires immigration officers to meet minimum standards for a reason. ICE cannot lawfully perform their duties, make arrests, carry weapons and use force without passing appropriate training.