The union that represents Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers said that a probe apparently seeking to identify the source of leaked internal documents detailing arrest quotas has unfairly targeted a suspected agent, the Washington Post reported.
The American Federation of Government Employees Council 118, which represents ICE officers, accuses the agency of initiating a “witch hunt” that tried to link the agent and the Post reporter, Spencer Hsu, both of whom have Asian surnames. The union declined to name the ICE agent.
In collaboration with the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Post published in March documents and emails from ICE officials that outlined arrest quotas, which the agency has since distanced itself from.
The published story provoked an immediate response from ICE Director John Morton, who insisted the agency doesn’t utilize quotas.
Immigration advocates also criticized the agency for the arrest quotas, which Morton had previously said the agency had ended. Some even called for Morton’s resignation or termination.
In fact, the Post ran its story about the leak probe along with a profile of Morton, in which he said calls for his resignation were “just part of the territory.”
As for the probe, “ICE leaders got caught doing something they shouldn’t have been doing, and now they want revenge and are targeting their own employees,” AFGE Council 118 President Chris Crane said in the statement.
An ICE spokesman told the Post that the agency’s senior leadership did not request or pursue the investigation, but declined further comment on who might have launched the probe.