19 Comments
User's avatar
Robert Gardner's avatar

What a fabulous piece and a great idea in the first place, and the pay off—that they hired you—is both astonishing and terrifying. It is pretty terrible that it is so easy to fire huge numbers of qualified and experienced federal employees, and then so easy to hoover anonymous thugs off the street. And I love your writing, you are a treat to us all.

Ornithomancer's avatar

Congrats on both the crazy article and what looks like a viral/breaking containment moment for you! I hope it boosts your readership here.

amba's avatar

“ICE’s recruitment push is so sloppy that the administration effectively has no idea who’s joining the agency’s ranks.” Just as the previous admin had no idea who was crossing the border.

Jack's avatar

An acquaintance of mine who joined ice, recently talked about a person who was hired that was in a wheelchair and paraplegic who reported for training at fletc. No background check, no physical.

Bern's avatar

Clearly the pressure is on recruiters to pump up the numbers. And that is the double-edged takeaway:

• ICE wil hire ANYONE

• ICE is WAY under-recruiting, so they are cooking the books

Bill Sorrell's avatar

How were they on taking PTO unscheduled? 401K match? Education reimbursement? Congratulations!🎊🎉 lol

Bill Flarsheim's avatar

WOW! I'd wondered what happened with that trip. Great story. A universe of troubling implications.

Deb Coon's avatar

Hey Laura. I’m just getting around to reading your Slate article and it doesn’t seem to give access to the complete article if I’m not a subscriber. It gets partway in and goes to nonstop ads. Is there any other way I can view it? Thanks!!

Jose Bonilla's avatar

Love this! Thank you for your great work!

Nimrod Kamer's avatar

ICE asks lady to hand over DoorDash rider hiding in her basement https://youtu.be/ppfFrlvaXgE

D Witham's avatar

Wow

That is so sad.

I can only imagine the predators signing up for access to the detainees.

There are rancid souls running the country.

Mitch Ritter's avatar

Laura Jedeed was doing a first rate Public Interest job for US. She may be doing a better job defending US by critiquing the Private Interest as well as Public Interest side of her own Job Seeker's portfolio. I wish I was her Show Biz or Journalistic\Publishing\Show Biz Agent, because she's appearing all over the place telling her tale of her move from fighting for US in Afghanistan and then in our own domestic Lower 48 border job of 'National Security':

https://laurajedeed.com/author/laura-jedeed/

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/1/14/laura_jedeed_ice

https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/ice-job-offered-laura-jedeed-recruitment-b2901334.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kGO6F_wHlc

"Journalist Tests ICE Recruitment; Surprised to Find Herself Hired with No Background Check"

Democracy Now!

3.15M subscribers

As her soon-to-be Hollywood Super Agent and current Portland, Ore neighbor\job-seeking paper-pushing veteran of all manner of profit-seeking journalism (after a less satisfying road to Destitute Homelessness working for Alternative Press and Public Interest broadcast\netcast journeylism) I'm here to test how far can ambitious patriotic do-gooders like me go via Private Interest Media pursuits without packing firearms and yet billing our bosses for all the ammo we can't use defending while show-casing our HOMELAND borders and any other Ports of Entry, soon-to-include Greenland & other unclaimed Arctic Lands currently bearing signs of US occupancy not to mention occupation. Yeah, that's the ticket. I'll modify my career resume to list this time as Seeking Remunerative Occupation...

Yours from today's frontlines of Multi-Media Careerism

and sequel to Get Smart picking up where the bosses of rival Intel

agencies of CHAOS & CONTROL try to negotiate their way out of

each other's latest advanced & product warrantied versions of the

CONE OF SILENCE....

(The manual calls for all procedures deployed to protect communications security)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxmEtJ31Ldw

The Crowded Cone of Silence - Get Smart - 1967

Shatner Method

46.7K subscribers

246,144 views Jan 5, 2021

Chief: "Max, how do expect to get five people into something that small?"

Max: "Thinking like that would have put the Volkswagen people out of business a long time ago."

Shatner Method

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1eUIK9CihA

Get Smart - Cone of Silence (from episode 1)

87gixxer

1.3K

396,811 views Oct 8, 2008

Get Smart, "cone of silence" scene from the first episode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0k5DQ92kqk

British CONTROL's Umbrella of Silence - Get Smart - 1967

Shatner Method

46.7K subscribers

112,467 views Apr 16, 2021

"London's more spacious version of the Cone of Silence appears to actually work but is plagued with ventilation problems..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNgMkK7OLeQ

The Closet of Silence - Get Smart - 1967

Shatner Method

46.7K subscribers

10,071 views Aug 16, 2023

"When budget cuts force CONTROL to lease the Cone of Silence out to the CIA, Max insists on a backup secrecy device."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3AXzztpnuc

The Portable Cone of Silence - Get Smart - 1966

Shatner Method

46.7K subscribers

25,506 views Mar 17, 2024

Professor Cone's portable version was possibly worst of them all - especially for the Chief.

Tio Mitchito

Mitch Ritter\Paradigm Sifters, Code Shifters, PsalmSong Chasers

Lay-Low Studios, Ore-Wa (Refuge of A-Tone-ment Seekers)

Media Discussion List\Looksee

amba's avatar

Beyond a certain point the article is apparently paywalled. Can you get them to make an exception?