- In January 2026, a rumor spread that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hired, with minimal vetting, an independent journalist who had openly criticized ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
- Laura Jedeed, the journalist in question, wrote an article for Slate magazine in which she recounted how ICE hired her in fall 2025. To independently verify the story, Snopes requested from Jedeed communications between her and the agency, as well as any other documentation related to the alleged hiring.
- Jadeed fulfilled that request, including
an email exchange regarding a drug test as part of the application. This exchange was with an employee of a health care company that provides services to the federal government. Snopes confirmed the employee worked for the health care company. In addition , we reviewed what appeared to be an email from ICE’s human resources team acknowledging that Jedeed had declined a “tentative job offer .” - Snopes sent that documentation from Jadeed to the DHS, asking for its response to the journalist’s claim that ICE hired her as a deportation officer. The agency did not return our inquiry, though we will update this report if that changes. On X, however, the DHS refuted Jedeed’s account, calling it a “lazy lie.” It said she may have received a “tentative selection letter,” which requests more documentation to confirm a job offer.
- There was no indication that the documentation Jadeed provided Snopes was inauthentic. However, due to the fact that we could not directly confirm her account on the federal government hiring platform, we could not give this rumor a rating. DHS provided no proof of its claim that Jedeed was lying.
In January 2026, a rumor spread online that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hired, with minimal vetting, an independent journalist who had openly criticized ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The claim originated from the journalist herself, Laura Jedeed, whose article appeared in Slate, a
A few months ago, ICE hired me
I didn’t sign and submit any paperwork. I’m real outspoken about my opinion of the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. “Welcome to ICE!”
Several Snopes readers emailed us to verify the story, in part because DHS denied Jedeed’s claim in an X post.
This is such a lazy lie.
This individual was NEVER offered a job at ICE.
Applicants may receive a Tentative Selection Letter following their initial application and interview that is not a job offer. It just means they are invited to submit information for review, similar to any other applicant.
At Snopes’ request, Jedeed forwarded us alleged evidence of the communications she received from a federal government hiring platform and human resources at ICE. We reviewed the emails, documents, images and video footage.
Snopes sent that documentation from Jadeed to the DHS, asking for its response to the journalist’s claim that ICE hired her as a deportation officer. The agency did not return our inquiry, though we will update this report if that changes.
We verified the domain names and links in Jedeed’s documentation, confirming they lead to websites related to ICE and the hiring platform (usastaffing.gov). As part of our review of documentation related to an alleged drug test for the application, we confirmed the identity of an employee of a health care company who had supposedly messaged with Jadeed about the purported screening.
Firsthand verification of Jadeed’s account on ICE’s hiring platform would help Snopes confirm her story. However, Jedeed said she lost access to her account after she declined the job offer, though she provided a video recording allegedly showing her navigating the tool previously. The internet address in the recording was legitimate.
There was no indication that the documentation Jadeed provided Snopes was inauthentic. However, due to the fact that we could not directly see her account on the federal government hiring platform, we could not give this rumor a rating. DHS provided no proof of its claim that Jedeed was lying.
Jedeed’s documentation
Jedeed provided a screen recording she captured while navigating what seemed to be an online
Contradicting DHS’
5 of 5 Onboarding
Welcome to Ice as a . Your duty location is New York, New York. Your EOD [Entry on Duty] was on Tuesday, September 30, 2025.
(Laura Jedeed)
Later in the video (0:49), Jedeed clicked on the “pre-employment” tab — the third phase according to the presumed tracker. The tab showed several tasks completed as of Oct. 6, 2025, labeled “physical,” “medical,” and “background investigation.” The drug test appeared completed earlier, on Sept. 25, 2025.
(Laura Jedeed)
Jedeed sent Snopes a Sept. 3, 2025,
(Laura Jedeed)
The email included documents and forms: a self-reported physical fitness test, medical self-certification and screening by a physician confirming the applicant’s medical fitness for joining law enforcement. It said she would have to complete a drug test in order to be hired. Snopes found the physical fitness test, a self-assessment form, on Page 20 of a 2022 ICE handbook. We also found the same law enforcement medical clearance form on the ICE website.
Drug test and ‘tentative job offer’
Jedeed also
Snopes
In her Slate article, she stated she had smoked marijuana six days before the drug screening and she was certain she would not pass it. However, Jadeed said she
Lastly,
(Laura Jedeed)
For further reading, Snopes previously investigated ICE’s legal authority to arrest U.S. citizens.
Anna Rascouët-Paz
Source link