PREVIEW: The Friday edition. - Your questions about ICE, answered.

Summary

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Tangle Podcast: PREVIEW - The Friday Edition. Your Questions About ICE, Answered.

Podcast: Tangle
Host: Isaac Saul
Date: February 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of Tangle dives into frequently asked questions about the Department of Homeland Security—focusing on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and related agencies. Isaac Saul, along with editors Will Kaback and Lindsay Knuth, aims to clarify public confusion and address rampant misinformation, especially in light of significant policy changes and hiring surges under the Trump administration. Through expert interviews and reader questions, the episode seeks to demystify these agencies’ structures, authorities, recruiting practices, and operational differences.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining DHS Agents: ICE vs. CBP

[02:35 – 08:30]

• Agency Breakdown:

  • ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and CBP (Customs and Border Protection) are both enforcement arms within DHS, with overlapping but distinct missions.
  • CBP is split into three branches:
    • Border Patrol: Handles patrols near borders.
    • Office of Field Operations: Inspects personal items at ports and airports.
    • Air and Marine Operations: Oversees aerial and maritime border security.
  • ICE has two main branches:
    • Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO): Focuses on finding and removing individuals residing illegally in the U.S.
    • Homeland Security Investigations (HSI): Primary investigative arm, focused on fraud and serious transnational crimes.

• Jurisdiction & Authority:

  • Border Patrol has special enforcement capabilities within 100 miles of the border, but can operate inland when assigned.
  • Both ICE and CBP officers can stop or detain individuals on “reasonable suspicion” and conduct arrests/searches with “probable cause.”
  • Authority and operational mandates often overlap, which fosters regular cooperation among divisions.

Notable Quote:
“CBP and ICE have considerable overlap in focus and responsibility, but though they differ in important and meaningful ways and each agency has subdivisions that specialize further...their authority is the same and their goals are usually aligned, so these divisions often work cooperatively.”
— Isaac Saul [07:40]

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2. Staffing, Recruitment, and Training Changes

[08:30 – 11:00]

• ICE Recent Growth:

  • Number of ICE agents swelled from 10,000 to over 22,000 in the past year (per January DHS press release).
  • Growth enabled by increased budgets, signing bonuses (up to $50,000), and student loan repayment incentives.
  • Significant policy change: Age restrictions were eliminated (previously 21-37/40, now 18 and up, no upper limit).

• Training Adjustments:

  • Concerns raised about whether instructional staff can keep up with rapid hiring.
  • Training includes basic constitutional rights, search & seizure, firearms, traffic stops; followed by agency-specific modules.
  • De-escalation and use-of-force policy are included.
  • Reports suggest Spanish language training was cut, utilizing translation tech instead.
  • Official ICE training varies (reported as short as six to eight weeks in some outlets, but ICE’s site lists 16 weeks plus five weeks for Spanish).
  • Unclear if instructional hours have been reduced, or just compressed.

Expert Concern:
“[Joshua] Erdheimer warned that the number of instructors and supervisors had not kept pace with the number of new recruits, and he questioned how these individuals have been trained, noting Noem's decision to drop the age requirement.”
— Isaac Saul, summarizing expert interview [09:58]

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3. Identification Requirements for DHS Agents

[11:00 – 12:00]

• Legal Expectations:
  • Legally, immigration officers must identify themselves as officers authorized to make arrests but are not universally required to give their name or badge number.
  • Exception: Officers can delay identification if they deem it unsafe or impractical.
  • Upon initiating an arrest, ICE agents must state they’re “immigration officers,” with the “practical and safe” caveat.

Policy Context:
“These regulations are typical for law enforcement as a whole. In fact, DHS rules on identification may be stricter in some cases. The United States does not have a federal law universally requiring law enforcement officers to identify or display their name and badge in every public interaction…”
— Isaac Saul [10:51]

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4. Preview of Further Discussion: Civil vs. Criminal Offenses

[13:04]

• Next Segment Teaser:
  • Associate Editor Lindsay Knuth introduces the next key question: If entering or overstaying in the U.S. is a civil violation, why can ICE or Border Patrol arrest people who aren’t committing criminal offenses?
  • The answer is previewed but the full discussion is behind the subscriber wall.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Agency Roles:
  “Their missions have significant overlap, but their responsibilities are different. CBP is made up of three branches…”
  — Isaac Saul [03:45]

• On Rapid Growth:
  “Over the last year, ICE has grown significantly, increasing its number of officers and agents from 10,000 to over 22,000, according to a January DHS press release.”
  — Isaac Saul [08:50]

• On the Policy Shift:
  “Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem eliminating the age requirement and CAP to work for ICE in August. Previously, applicants had to be between the ages of 21 and 37 or 40...Now applicants can be as young as 18, and there is no upper limit on age.”
  — Isaac Saul [09:10]

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• [02:35] — Introduction & Purpose: What are ICE and CBP, and why are people confused?
• [04:00 – 08:30] — Breakdown of DHS agency responsibilities and authority.
• [08:30 – 11:00] — ICE/CBP recruitment surge, training changes, age limits, expert concerns.
• [11:00 – 12:00] — Identification requirements for agents.
• [13:04] — Transition to segment exploring civil offenses and ICE’s arrest authority (preview only).

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Tone & Style

Isaac Saul’s delivery is fact-driven yet accessible, addressing listener questions with clarity and nuance. The episode balances expert insight with readable explanations, reflecting Tangle’s commitment to independence and cross-spectrum political analysis. The language remains approachable, avoiding bureaucratic jargon but remaining precise about legal and policy complexities.

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Summary Takeaways

• ICE and CBP are both enforcement agencies with overlapping but distinct branches and missions; cooperation is common.
• ICE is undergoing significant expansion, with changes in recruitment policy and training, sparking concerns from former DHS officials about readiness and maturity of new hires.
• Identification by agents is required only when safe and practical, with no universal federal rule for name/badge disclosure in all public interactions.
• Further subscriber-only sections will address the legal rationale for ICE/CBP arrests over civil infractions.

Listeners and readers, especially those seeking unbiased breakdowns of DHS operations and immigration enforcement procedures, will find the episode informative, clear, and engaging—true to Tangle’s non-partisan mission.

Transcript

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From executive producer Isaac Saul, this is Tangle.

[Isaac Saul]

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening and welcome to the Tangle Podcast, a place we get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking, and a little bit of my take. I'm your host Isaac Saul, and on today's episode we're answering your questions about ice. More specifically, your questions about the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection. Readers from across the Political spectrum are trying to separate fact from fiction right now. Can ICE actually arrest US Citizens? What are my rights if a Border Patrol officer talks to me? How are all of these new agents being trained? Amid a massive hiring push by the Trump administration online and in the opinion sections of news outlets, misinformation has been rampant in our own coverage. We've tried to address some of these questions, but the answers are often legally nuanced and impossible to sum up in a single sentence. A post on x or a 30 second TikTok video. Today, though, we're going to address them in detail. In order to get to the bottom of these questions, we spoke with a wide array of experts. Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge who now works at the center for Immigration Studies. Cesar Garcia Hernandez, the Gregory Williams Chair in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Attorney Sarah Isker, who is also the co host of advisory opinions and and a legal analyst at the Dispatch. And Joshua Erdenheimer, who spent years overseeing training policies at dhs. We've compiled the most frequently asked questions we've received from readers, and in a moment, we're gonna go through them one by one and answer them. Today I'm gonna be joined on the podcast by Will Kaback and Lindsay Knuth, two of our editors who are gonna help me respond to some of these questions. All right, first, who are DHS agents? This is a broad category of questions we've been getting, and one of the big ones is what is the difference between ICE and cbp? So ICE and CBP are enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. Their missions have significant overlap, but their responsibilities are different. CBP is made up of three branches. Border Patrol, which you've seen a lot of in the news. The Office of Field Operations, the agents you encounter at ports of entry, at border crossings, or in the airport. They're the ones inspecting your bags for illegal goods. And finally, Air and Marine Operations, which, as the name implies, handle air and marine approaches to the United States. Per federal regulation, Border Patrol has specialized enforcement authority anywhere within 100 miles of the border. But they may also be assigned to conduct inland enforcement with other DHS agencies, like Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis. Like all federal immigration officers, Border Patrol agents can stop or detain anyone if they have reasonable suspicion. We'll talk about this in a moment. To believe they're in the country illegally, probable cause or observations that lead agents to reasonably believe a person is unlawfully present is generally required for them to conduct arrests or searches. Though Border Patrol agents can often conduct routine searches at immigration checkpoints. Without it, ice, which has two branches, is primarily responsible for finding and removing people in the United States illegally. ICE's two branches are the enforcement and removal operations, or ERO, which are the agents you've seen on the news in places like Minneapolis Homeland security investigations, or HSI. Special agents are the second branch. HSI is ICE's main investigative arm. They're also present in Minnesota, but they are focused on investigating fraud. As you can see, CBP and ICE have considerable overlap in focus and responsibility, but though they differ in important and meaningful ways and each agency has subdivisions that specialize further. Importantly though, their authority is the same and their goals are usually aligned, so these divisions often work cooperatively. Another question we've been getting a lot of is who works for these agencies? How have they been recruited or trained, and how has that changed over the past year? So ICE and CPP are primarily staffed by federal immigration officers, but they also have a wide range of support staff, such as lawyers, analysts and administrators. According to a recent press Release, ICE employs 22,000 personnel per their career FAQ page. This includes more than 8,500 employees in both ERO and HSI, including over 6,500 special agents in the latter. Notably, other pages on ICE's website have differing numbers. For example, the HSI webpage lists its employment at over 10,000 employees with 6,000 special agents, and the ICE career homepage says HSI has 10,400 employees with 7,100 special agents. Over the last year, ICE has grown significantly, increasing its number of officers and agents from 10,000 to over 22,000, according to a January DHS press release. Part of this hiring boom has come from an increased budget, allowing ICE to offer incentives like signing bonuses up to $50,000 and student loan repayment and forgiveness. It has also broadened its hiring pool, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem eliminating the age requirement and CAP to work for ICE in August. Previously, applicants had to be between the ages of 21 and 37 or 40, depending on the position they were applying for. Now applicants can be as young as 18, and there is no upper limit on age. In our interview, Joshua Erdenheimer, the former DHS training leader, noted a few possible concerns with this hiring approach. Erdheimer warned that the number of instructors and supervisors had not kept pace with the number of new recruits, and he questioned how these individuals have been trained, noting Noem's decision to drop the age requirement. He also said that he would ensure that the screening process included evaluations of maturity levels and judgment. Federal officers mostly undergo the same basic training program on constitutional rights, search and seizures, firearms and traffic stops. After that, they participate in training specifically tailored to the mission of their organization. For example, ICE may focus on fugitive apprehension and transportation of subjects in custody, while CBP may train recruits on enforcement near the border and the use of certain monitoring technologies. DHS officers undergo de escalation training and are trained on the agency's use of force policy. Many outlets have reported that DHS has cut the training requirement for ICE recruits, but the extent of the changes is unclear. Some reports put the new training duration at six or eight weeks. However, the ICE website still lists training at five weeks of Spanish language learning and 16 weeks in immigration enforcement. Senior ICE official Caleb Vitello told the Associated Press in August that that ICE cut Spanish training requirements to reduce training time by five weeks, opting instead to use increased translation technology services. Erderheimer also noted that the training timeline could have been shortened without cutting training hours by extending daily instruction or adding an extra day per week. All right, and finally for me is the question of when do DHS agents have to identify themselves? So federal law requires every immigration officer to identify themselves as an officer who is authorized to execute an arrest, but they are not explicitly required to give their name or other identifying information. This requirement includes the caveat that agents do not need to identify themselves until they deem it practical and safe to do so. For ICE specifically, agents can refer to themselves as federal officers or police when approaching a subject or but once an arrest is initiated, they must identify themselves as an immigration officer, again with the practical and safe caveat. These regulations are typical for law enforcement as a whole. In fact, DHS rules on identification may be stricter in some cases. The United States does not have a federal law universally requiring law enforcement officers to identify or display their name and badge in every public interaction, though local news or department specific policies require it in some places. All right, that is it for me. I'm gonna pass it over to Will and Lindsay for the rest of the pod and I'll see you guys soon. Peace. We'll be right back after this quick break.

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[Isaac Saul]

Thanks Isaac. This is Associate Editor Lindsay Knuth and I'm going to be covering the section titled what are Agents Doing? The first question here is I thought being here illegally or overstaying a visa was a civil offense or misdemeanor, not a serious crime. Why can ICE or Border Patrol arrest people when they aren't actually committing criminal offenses?

[John Wall]

Hey everybody, this is John, Executive Producer for Tangle. We hope you enjoyed this preview of our latest episode. If you are not currently a newsletter subscriber or a premium podcast subscriber and you are enjoying this content and would like to finish it, you can go to readtangle.com and sign up for a newsletter subscription. Or you can sign up for a podcast subscription or a bundled subscription which gets you both the podcast and the newsletter and unlocks the rest of this episode as well as ad free daily podcasts, more Friday editions, Sunday editions, bonus content, interviews and so much more. Most importantly, we just want to say thank you so much for your support. We're working hard to bring you much more content and more offerings, so stay tuned. I will join you again for the daily podcast. For the rest of the crew, this is John Law signing off. Have a great day y'. All.

[Isaac Saul]

Peace. Our Executive Editor and founder is me, Isaac Saul, and our Executive Producer is John Wall. Today's episode was edited and engineered by Dewey Thomas. Our editorial staff is led by Managing Editor or Ari Weitzman with Senior Editor Will K. Back and Associate Editors Audrey Moorhead, Lindsay Knuth and Bailey Saul. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet75. To learn more about Tangle and to sign up for a membership, please visit our [e-mail].

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[Isaac Saul]

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