GLYNCO, Georgia A surge of 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recruits is passing through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in coastal Georgia, reflecting one of the largest training pushes in the agencys history. The sprawling 5,400-acre campus near Brunswick, situated between Jacksonville, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia, has become the hub for preparing ICEs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers who will be sent nationwide to carry out immigration enforcement duties. The new recruits are enrolled in an intensive eight-week basic training program covering immigration law, firearms, driving, and defensive tactics. Before reporting to the campus, candidates complete two weeks of online coursework, after which they move into dormitories and apartments on-site. While at FLETC, trainees operate in a structured but college-like community alongside personnel from over 100 federal agencies who also rotate through the facility annually. About 68,000 students train there each year, with roughly 3,000 on campus at any given time. The campus itself is designed for realism and scale. It features multiple firearm training ranges, four separate driver training tracks, simulated neighborhoods for active shooter and warrant service drills, an indoor pool, a state-of-the-art gym, and obstacle courses. One of the most prominent requirements for graduation is completing an obstacle course in under one minute and forty-five seconds, a test meant to replicate the physical urgency of field operations such as scaling fences or carrying an injured partner. Across 18 firearm ranges, recruits and returning officers expend nearly 39 million rounds annually. The rapid buildup stems from congressional funding under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which allocated nearly $30 billion specifically for ICE staffing, transportation, and detention. That package paved the way for the 10,000-officer hiring push, and ICE reports receiving over 121,000 applications since mid-July. To incentivize high-quality applicants, the agency has offered hiring bonuses up to $50,000, student loan repayment of $60,000, waived age limits, and dropped college credit requirements. According to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, this recruitment surge allows the agency to be picky in selecting who makes it to training. Basic instruction once included a five-week Spanish immersion block, but officials recently eliminated it, replacing it with translation technology support in the field. Training has been streamlined into two to three daily shifts, sometimes seven days a week, to accommodate the scale of incoming classes. Upon completion, new officers are matched with certified trainers at their assigned field locations to continue mentorship in real-world environments. Recruits undergo not only classroom education in law and policy but also practical simulations that emphasize de-escalation. ICE officials stress that officers are taught to resolve encounters verbally whenever possible, reserving force as a last option. At the driving course, students practice maneuvers for adverse weather conditions and high-speed pursuits. Inside simulation neighborhoods, they rehearse rescue operations and warrant services, with ICEs Special Response Team demonstrating tactics for high-risk scenarios. The facility also invests in wellness. While details remain limited, ICE leaders say a growing emphasis is placed on ensuring officers are fit not only physically but also mentally, with programs aimed at sustaining resilience over decades of service. Expanded training space, including a new 40,000-square-foot combat and fitness center, reflects this long-term approach. The broader training effort underscores ICEs mandate to enforce immigration law at the federal level, not state or local ordinances. Instructors prepare recruits to conduct arrests, manage detention, and complete removals while adhering to constitutional standards such as the Fourth Amendment. Recruits learn how to handle at-large operations in the community, operate within legal boundaries, and use firearms responsibly. Instructors emphasize scenario-based training where judgment and restraint are as important as physical capability.