U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement accidentally leaked the identities of 6,252 immigrants seeking protection in the country.
Immigration advocacy group Human Rights First immediately notified ICE after discovering the breach on Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times. The file containing the names, case status, detention locations, and other information of the immigrants was mistakenly posted on a page where ICE posts detention statistics. It was up for five hours before being removed.
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“Though unintentional, this release of information is a breach of policy and the agency is investigating the incident and taking all corrective actions necessary,” an ICE spokesperson told the outlet in a statement.
Activists fear that the leak may have exposed the information of refugees seeking protection to the very groups they are seeking protection from, including gangs and foreign governments.
“The U.S. government has a crucial obligation to hold asylum seekers’ names and information in confidence so they don’t face retaliation or further harm by the governments or individuals whose persecution they fled,” Policy Director Heidi Altman of the National Immigrant Justice Center, an immigrant advocacy organization, told the outlet. “ICE’s publication of confidential data is illegal and ethically unconscionable, a mistake that must never be repeated.”
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ICE said it is actively monitoring the internet to see if any hostile groups obtained the leaked information and will let the lawyers of any compromised individuals know.
