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Connections
A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.
Connections

Who is ICE recruiting?

By Evan Dawson,
Megan Mack, Julie Williams
Published January 14, 2026 at 4:12 PM EST
Two men wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a bald man at left has a grey goatee and is wearing glasses and a yellow and brown plaid button-down shirt; a man at right has short dark hair and is wearing a red, white and blue plaid button-down shirt.
1 of 2  — Marv Stepherson with host Evan Dawson on "Connections"
Marv Stepherson with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Julie Williams / WXXI News
A woman with long brown hair wearing a black shirt sits at a table holding a cup.
2 of 2  — Laura Jedeed
Laura Jedeed
Provided
WXXI News

Afghan war veteran Laura Jedeed never thought ICE would hire her as a deportation officer.

Jedeed thought she failed the drug test, and she knew an internet search would reveal plenty of reasons for the agency not to hire her. As she writes for Slate Magazine, ICE didn't perform a background check ... and it sent her an offer.

We discuss the process of joining ICE and concerns about the conduct of some of its officers.

Our guests:

Connections
Evan Dawson
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
See stories by Evan Dawson
Megan Mack
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
See stories by Megan Mack
Julie Williams
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.
See stories by Julie Williams