💥 Trump’s Plan to Double ICE Hits an Embarrassing Wall — Recruits Keep Failing the Fitness Test

Here’s a rewritten version of your article in professional journalistic English, styled like a CNN or Politico feature — clear, engaging, and a bit punchy 👇

President Donald Trump’s ambitious plan to double the size of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by January is running into an unexpected — and, as one official put it, “pathetic” — obstacle: many of the new recruits simply can’t pass the fitness test.

According to The Atlantic, more than one-third of trainees at ICE’s academy in Georgia have failed the agency’s basic physical exam, which requires 15 push-ups, 32 sit-ups, and a 1.5-mile run in under 14 minutes.

“It’s pathetic,” one veteran ICE official admitted, noting that even after the standards were lowered to attract more applicants, the failure rate remains alarmingly high.

An internal email obtained by The Atlantic reportedly complained about “a considerable amount of athletically allergic candidates” who misrepresented their physical fitness on job applications.

Rather than sending them home, ICE has reassigned many of the unfit recruits to temporary administrative duties while their dismissals are processed — a move that’s reportedly causing chaos at field offices.

“It’s a disaster,” said one senior ICE official. “They’re not fully trained, they can’t do field work, and now we’re running out of parking spaces, cubicles, and even bathrooms.”

Despite the recruitment fiasco, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told The Atlantic that these unfit recruits represent only “a small subset” of candidates and that the agency still expects to meet 85% of its hiring goal through other means.

To make up the numbers, DHS plans to bring in existing law enforcement officers and recently retired ICE agents, who are allowed to skip the fitness test but will still face medical and background checks. The arrangement also allows retired agents to collect both a salary and their pensions.

Despite widespread criticism of Trump’s immigration policies, interest in ICE positions remains high — likely due to the agency’s generous incentives, including $50,000 hiring bonuses and student loan forgiveness.

Given the sluggish job market, the offer is proving tempting — even if not everyone is physically ready to run the extra mile.

Would you like me to make a short “headline + blurb” version (around 3–4 sentences) for posting on Facebook or X (Twitter) with a viral-style hook?