A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson on Friday called WikiLeaks’ decision to publish personal information and name the agency’s more than 9,000 current and former employees “unconscionable.”
“People can disagree on policy, but it is unconscionable to target our employees and advocate violence against federal law enforcement officers, who put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe. This kind of rhetoric is reckless and irresponsible, and potentially puts at risk those who have taken an oath to uphold the law and protect public safety” Liz Johnson, director of ICE’s Office of Public Affairs, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
Late Thursday, the Julian Assange’s website published a database of information, including pictures, it had collected from ICE employees’ LinkedIn profiles.
“This information is an important public resource for understanding ICE programs and increasing accountability, especially in light of the extreme actions taken by ICE lately, such as the separation of children and parents at the U.S. border,” WikiLeaks wrote.
The move comes in the midst of the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy for illegal entrants. President Trump announced Wednesday he would no longer separate minors from parents, but said the adults who attempt to enter the country between ports of entry will continue to be referred for prosecution.
The Department of Homeland Security also responded Friday to a progressive Democratic gubernatorial candidate who compared the federal agency to a terrorist organization.
Cynthia Nixon, a former actor who is running to be New York’s next governor, said late Thursday she wants to “abolish” ICE because it “has strayed so far from its mission.”
“It’s supposed to be here to keep Americans safe, but what it’s turned into is frankly a terrorist organization of its own that is terrorizing people that are coming to this country,” Nixon told NY-1 late Thursday.
DHS responded that if that was the case, Congress should change the laws its federal law enforcement officers are tasked with carrying out.
“Disappointment with long-standing immigration laws should be directed towards Congress, not heroes in uniform,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement issued Friday afternoon.
ICE was created in March 2003 and its two offices, Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations, carry out more than 400 federal statutes related to immigration. It is the second-largest criminal investigation organization after the FBI.
