JUST SAYING

BY RAUL HERNANDEZ

There needs to be a real investigation into how the government has been hiring ICE agents—who got hired, what corners were cut, and whether Stephen Miller’s operation pushed people into the field without proper training and oversight.

Many of these ICE agents were roaming squads of uniformed goons: “rat-pack” arrests of protesters, people holding cameras, and bystanders who were simply in their way.

AND, there needs to be a separate investigation into who lied on federal employment applications, still got hired, and then walked off with a $50,000 signing bonus. ICE has openly advertised bonuses up to $50,000, which makes the vetting and accountability questions even more urgent.

This isn’t a paperwork nitpick. Lying on a federal employment application carries serious criminal penalties—including up to five years in prison, and potentially more if tied to national-security or terrorism concerns.

The same scrutiny should apply to how Pam Bondi and Trump’s Department of Justice back filled thousands of vacancies after waves of departures tied to integrity and ethics concerns. For lawyers, dishonesty on federal applications can risk not just prosecution but bar discipline, suspension, or disbarment.

The real hope lies with investigative journalism—ProPublica, The Guardian, Axios, and others—digging into hiring pipelines, training practices, background checks, complaint histories, disciplinary files, use-of-force reviews

Forget Congress doing this. It takes courage.