ICE’s Internal Watchdog Is Now Investigating Online Critics

Voting was already done is happening when ICE agents arrived at a polling place in Syracuse, New York, during the vote state primaries in June. The agents were there to see Paigelynn Gonyea, a detective who is said to be concerned about an Instagram post she allegedly made in January “acting out” an ICE agent. The only thing post he found out that he was the one who made the history of the Minnesota Star Tribune in recognition Jonathan Rossthe ICE agent who shot and killed Renee Good during a federal raid in Minneapolis this winter, calling for impeachment.

Supporters at the center asked Gonyea to sign a warning that it is not allowed to “threaten to beat, steal or kill” government officials or their relatives in an attempt to obstruct the official’s work. The form also asked him to delete his posts “and/or stop” his behavior.

“My signature would be an admission of guilt,” says Gonyea. “I refused to sign.”

ICE did not respond to a request for comment.

The event, that was first report and Syracuse.com, was unsettling in many ways, but one part didn’t block Gonyea: the alert it says was sent by ICE. Office of Professional Responsibility.

Mr. Gonyea said: “This office should be an internal investigation, and now they are using their own department to help ordinary Americans.”

OPR and he is supposed to act as an inner guard. It is responsible for monitoring detention facilities, investigating allegations of wrongdoing by employees and contractors, and conducting security checks for new arrivals. On its site, it says it also protects against “external threats” by controlling badge access to buildings and maintaining organizational security. But recently, court documents show that it appears to be targeting ordinary people like Gonyea for what they say online.

In a court declaration In a statement issued in April, the ICE chief said that between January 2025 and March 2026, OPR investigated 131 cases involving “atrocities and threats against ICE agents across the country.”

It is unclear how many of these crimes resulted in criminal charges. WIRED was able to find out exclusively one example when OPR was praised for its investigative work in a case in which the Department of Justice accused a California man of harassing an ICE attorney and his mother. The DOJ says the man, who pleaded guilty, lived in the same house as his mother and began his campaign of harassment in January 2024, before President Trump took office. ICE did not respond to questions about whether additional cases have been brought based on OPR’s work or how many additional cases OPR has opened since March.

“It takes a lot to hold someone accountable for their speech, and it’s only possible if it’s limited,” said Laura Moraff, an attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “People have a First Amendment right to criticize the government and do it online and do it anonymously.”

OPR was behind at least one of the fall of administrative subpoenas have been sent to tech companies in recent months in an effort to broadcast online dissent. In court recordsThe poster’s lawyers said the document, which asked for the poster’s name, address, phone number, etc., violated the poster’s copyright. The government withdrew the document rather than attempt to challenge its merits.