ICE’s internal watchdog is now investigating online critics

The vote has already been made This incident was underway when ICE agents arrived at a polling place in Syracuse, New York, during the state’s June primary. The agents were there to see Paigelyn Gonyea, a poll worker who says they were concerned about an Instagram post she supposedly made in January “snooping” an ICE agent. The only post I could find was one I made for the Minnesota Star Tribune identifying Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who shot and killed Rene Judd during the federal incursion in Minneapolis this winter, and calling for him to be charged.

Agents at the polling site asked Gonyea to sign a warning notice stating that it was unlawful to “threaten assault, kidnapping, and/or kill” federal officials or members of their immediate family in an attempt to obstruct that federal official’s work. The model also asked her to remove her post and “stop” her behavior.

“My signature was an admission of guilt,” Gonia says. “I refused to sign it.”

ICE did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

The incident, first reported by local news outlet Syracuse.com, was troubling in many ways, but one part of it connected to Gonyea: The warning notice said it was sent by ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

“This office is supposed to be for internal investigations, and now they use their own internal departments to deal with American civilians,” Gonyea says.

OPR He is It is meant to act as an internal monitor. It is responsible for inspecting detention facilities, investigating allegations of employee and contractor misconduct, and processing security checks for new applicants. It says on its site that it also protects against “external threats” by managing badge access to buildings and keeping the agency’s network secure. But recently, court documents indicate, it appears to be going after more civilians like Gonyea for what they say online.

In a court filing in April, an ICE official said that between January 2025 and March 2026, the public relations office investigated 131 cases involving “incidents of defamation and threats directed against ICE employees across the country.”

It is unclear how many of these cases have led to criminal charges. WIRED was able to identify only one instance when OPR was credited for its investigative work in a case in which the Department of Justice accused a California man of harassing an ICE attorney and her mother. The Justice Department alleged that the man, who pleaded guilty, lived in the same building as the mother, and that he began the campaign of harassment in January 2024, long before President Trump took office. ICE did not respond to questions about whether other cases have been filed based on the work of the PR office or how many additional cases the PR office has opened since March.

“It takes a lot of effort to convict someone for their speech, and that’s only possible in very limited circumstances,” says Laura Morav, an attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “People have a First Amendment right to criticize the government and to do so online and to do so anonymously.”

OPR was behind at least one of a wave of administrative subpoenas sent to tech companies in recent months in an attempt to expose online critics. In court filings, the label’s lawyers said the subpoena, which requested the poster’s name, address, phone number and other details, violated the poster’s right to free expression. The government withdrew the subpoena rather than attempt to litigate on its merits.