ICE Agent Challenge: Fitness Test Exposes Low Standards

Josh Sorbe's 'ICE Agent Challenge' mocks low fitness standards for ICE recruits under Trump, highlighting concerns about immigration enforcement and MAGA's policies. The challenge went viral.

” I was in the center of a workout, I was lifting, and I ran across a short article from The Atlantic that called out ICE’s ‘athletically allergic’ brand-new employees,” Sorbe, whose day job is press assistant for the Democrats on the Us Senate Judiciary Board, told The Supporter in an interview on Thursday. “I check out the examination and I was like, one, I know I can do this.

Viral ‘ICE Agent Challenge’ Emerges

The viral message has currently influenced others to participate. “I train HIIT courses in D.C. in my leisure time, and a couple of my clients in fact asked, ‘Are we going to do the ICE representative challenge today?'” Sorbe stated. “In the rear of my head, I resembled, ‘What happens if the ICE representative challenge should absolutely come to be a thing?’ I would love it if a base of healthy liberals who are enthusiastic regarding this issue beginning taking it and doing it the same way that I do.”

Christopher Wiggins is The Supporter’s senior national press reporter in Washington, D.C., covering the crossway of public policy and national politics with LGBTQ+ lives, including The White Residence, United State Congress, High Court, and federal agencies. He has actually composed numerous cover tale accounts for The Supporter’s print publication, profiling numbers like Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, longtime LGBTQ+ ally Vice President Kamala Harris, and ABC Good Morning America Weekend support Gio Benitez. Wiggins is devoted to intensifying unknown tales, particularly as the 2nd Trump management’s plans effect LGBTQ+ (and specifically transgender) civil liberties, and can be gotten to at christopher.wiggins@equalpride.com or on BlueSky at cwnewser.bsky.social; whistleblowers can securely call him on Signal at cwdc.98.

Sorbe’s Motivation: Politics and Fitness

“I was in the middle of a workout, I was lifting, and I ran throughout a write-up from The Atlantic that called out ICE’s ‘athletically allergic’ new recruits,” Sorbe, whose day work is press secretary for the Democrats on the Us Senate Judiciary Board, told The Advocate in a meeting on Thursday.” I’ve been very frustrated with ICE ever considering that the Trump management started intensifying immigration enforcement efforts,” Sorbe told The Supporter. Sorbe said he sees the “ICE Representative Difficulty” as both a kind of political discourse and a method to redeem health and fitness culture from the far.

He added that his video clip caught the attention of individuals inside the Department of Homeland Security. “I did obtain a text message from a friend stating that someone they knew at DHS, I’m not mosting likely to go deeper than that, saw the video, and they were type of pissed,” Sorbe stated. “I’m like, you recognize what? If I were called out this effectively, I ‘d most likely be a little pissed also.”

Trump-Era ICE Recruitment Under Scrutiny

Under Trump’s mass expulsion program, cities with Democratic mayors in states with Democratic guvs have actually seen concealed ICE representatives seizing people, consisting of American residents, out of vehicles and homes. Fierce scenes with enormous plainclothes policemans scaring communities have spread across social networks as citizens film what is taking place, commonly at excellent peril to themselves.

When Washington, D.C. resident Josh Sorbe saw The Atlantic’s current reporting concerning the failure price amongst new Immigration and Customs Enforcement hires, the Autonomous U.S. Senate press secretary and political planner determined to put it to the examination himself– literally.

In his meeting, Sorbe described the Trump administration’s recruitment push as “DEI for the MAGA base.” “I don’t want this push or this video per se to be taken as anti-ICE,” he claimed. “If you are a dedicated individual that actually wishes to be a police professional and offer our country as an ICE representative, definitely. That is an incredible interest to have, and you ought to most definitely think about a career in civil service because way.”

Sorbe claimed his disappointment runs deeper than physical fitness. “The state of the politics around ICE is so terrible,” he claimed.

In a video clip uploaded to social media sites, Sorbe, that is gay, completed the exact same physical fitness examination that has stymied a third of new ICE students in 12 mins and 19 seconds. The challenge– 15 push-ups, 32 sit-ups, and a 1.5-mile run in under 14 mins– belonged to a Trump administration press to work with 10,000 brand-new expulsion police officers by following January. Sorbe finished the exercises in much less time than the ICE examination allots for the run alone.

In a video clip uploaded to social media, Sorbe, who is gay, finished the same physical fitness test that has stumped a 3rd of brand-new ICE students in 12 minutes and 19 secs. Sorbe finished the exercises in much less time than the ICE exam allots for the run alone.

In his video clip, Sorbe buffooned the administration’s recruitment push while running on a treadmill. “MAGA is so desperate to villainize immigrants that they agree to try to allow any individual come to be an ICE representative,” he claimed in the clip. “The standards to sign up with ICE are so, so, so low.”

Examining Fitness Test Failure Rates

“I’ve been extremely distressed with ICE ever since the Trump management started rising migration enforcement initiatives,” Sorbe told The Supporter. “You think of the administration of a huge government company– examinations and guidelines and points that are sometimes created and not seen. Well, in the last month and a half, we’ve had the ability to see them a great deal even more of what’s happening in Chicago and in Los Angeles and in D.C.”

It’s going to be individuals who appeal to their base. And currently we’re seeing that they’re falling short not only the physical fitness test at document rates, with more than 30 percent stopping working, however they’re also falling short open-book composed exams at rates that had not been seen prior to. And I believe it speaks exactly to the type of individuals that consist of the MAGA base.”

Sorbe claimed he sees the “ICE Agent Difficulty” as both a kind of political discourse and a way to redeem health and fitness society from the much. “I am an extremely passionate Democrat who believes that everybody should certainly be treated with a fundamental degree of regard that ICE is not showing,” he claimed. “I am a health and fitness instructor and a marathoner. I was a D1 professional athlete for a long period of time, and this was a perfect possibility to entirely unmask the idea that Republicans can lay claim below.”

Sorbe stated his video clip wasn’t prepared yet promptly ended up being a minute. “It’s about a shift in society,” he stated.

Christopher Wiggins is The Supporter’s elderly national reporter in Washington, D.C., covering the junction of public policy and national politics with LGBTQ+ lives, including The White House, United State Congress, Supreme Court, and federal firms. He has actually written numerous cover story profiles for The Advocate’s print magazine, profiling numbers like Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, long time LGBTQ+ ally Vice President Kamala Harris, and ABC Good Morning America Weekend anchor Gio Benitez. Wiggins is devoted to magnifying untold tales, specifically as the second Trump administration’s policies effect LGBTQ+ (and specifically transgender) legal rights, and can be reached at christopher.wiggins@equalpride.com or on BlueSky at cwnewser.bsky.social; whistleblowers can firmly call him on Signal at cwdc.98.

The Bigger Picture: Immigration and MAGA

The Atlantic report outlined that greater than one-third of ICE recruits have fallen short the company’s physical-readiness test after the Trump administration reduced training programs and loosened up screening needs.

For Sorbe, the obstacle is about even more than workout. “There are two parts below,” he stated. MAGA is extremely, extremely great at doing, however they have no concepts.

At the end of this video, Sorbe added, “Immigrants make America really f *** ing wonderful.” Sorbe finished from the College of South Dakota, the same state where Noem worked as guv prior to signing up with the Trump administration.