Activists post home phone numbers, addresses of Portland ICE employees

(The Oregonian/OregonLive)

As demonstrators at Portland's Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities segue into their fifth consecutive day of protest, several agency employees have had their personal information leaked on social media.

A self-proclaimed anti-fascist activist mined the professional networking service LinkedIn for the public profiles of anyone currently employed by ICE on Tuesday, posting his findings in a now-defunct Medium blog post. (A cached version of the screed, links broken, is still available.)

"While I don't have a precise idea of what should be done with this data set," Sam Lavigne wrote, "I leave it here with the hope that researchers, journalists and activists will find it useful."

Local activists found their own uses for the information, tracking down ICE employees' social media profiles, phone numbers and home addresses and posting their findings on Facebook and Twitter.

Twitter user @NAmirite spread at least seven graphics fashioned to look like wanted posters titled "Meet Your Local ICE Gestapo Agent." Six of the ICE employees live in the Portland area. A seventh is from Medford.

Lisa Batey, who currently chairs the Milwaukie City Council, was one of the metro-area ICE employees whose information was spread on social media.

Those affected did not respond to requests for comment from The Oregonian/OregonLive, some of whose voicemail inboxes were full for much of Thursday. Their personal Facebook pages had also been placed under the strictest privacy settings the platform allows.

An ICE spokesperson could not confirm whether the agency has taken extra security measures for affected employees but did issue a statement.

"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," Assistant Director of Public Affairs for ICE Liz Johnson told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an email. "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."

The Portland ICE employees aren't the first folks whose personal information has found its way online since the White House began enforcing its zero-tolerance immigration policy.

President Donald Trump's senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller, had his cell phone number published by Splinter on Wednesday morning.

Shane Dixon Kavanaugh of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report.

 

--Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344
ecampuzano@oregonian.com

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