‘Anti-ICE’ Reporter Drops Proof That Agency Hired Her After DHS Called Exposé ‘a Lazy Lie’

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

A public standoff erupted Wednesday between Slate reporter Laura Jedeed and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after she posted evidence to undercut DHS’s blunt denial that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ever offered her a job.

Jedeed wrote an exposé that ignited scrutiny of the ICE’s practices in its drive to recruit agents, claiming that she advanced through the agency’s hiring pipeline to the point of receiving a final job offer, despite not completing basic paperwork and undergoing what she described as “minimal vetting.”

DHS forcefully rejected the account, published Tuesday, calling it “a lazy lie,” and insisting that a tentative selection letter “is not a job offer.”

Jedeed hit back publicly in a reply on Wednesday, saying “You sure about that?” and posting a video that shows a final offer and onboarding date.

“The screengrab video I posted in response clearly shows a final offer and onboarding date,” she added.

The reporter said she attended an ICE career expo in August 2025 in Arlington, Texas, where recruiters advertised immediate openings for deportation officers. She said her interview lasted less than six minutes and consisted largely of biographical questions.

She later received an email extending what ICE described as a “tentative offer” and asking her to complete forms related to background checks and domestic violence disclosures, steps she says she never took. Yet weeks later, she wrote, her status in the government hiring portal showed her as “Entered on Duty,” indicating a completed hire.

The reporter ultimately declined the position, but warned that the process suggested serious internal failures.

“But if they missed the fact that I was an anti-ICE journalist who didn’t fill out her paperwork, what else might they be missing?” she asked, raising concerns about armed officers being hired without adequate screening.

Slate stood by the reporting, saying evidence shows Jedeed progressed “beyond the ‘tentative selection letter,’ including receiving a final offer letter and being given a start date.”

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