Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s internal oversight office is being used to investigate civilians over online posts about ICE personnel, according to court records and incidents reported by Syracuse.com and WIRED. That is a consequential shift for an office better known for inspecting detention centers, vetting hires and investigating misconduct inside the agency.
The clearest example so far involves Paigelynn Gonyea, a poll worker in Syracuse, New York. During the state’s June primaries, ICE agents went to a polling place while voting was underway to question her about an Instagram post they described as doxing an ICE agent, Syracuse.com first reported.
Gonyea told WIRED the post she found had credited the Minnesota Star Tribune for identifying Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who shot and killed Renee Good during a federal operation in Minneapolis this winter. Her post also called for Ross to be indicted.
The agents asked Gonyea to sign a warning notice saying it was unlawful to threaten to assault, kidnap or murder federal officials or their immediate relatives to interfere with official duties. The notice also asked her to remove the post or stop the conduct. Gonyea said she refused because signing would have amounted, in her view, to admitting wrongdoing. ICE did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
Internal watchdog, external targets
The notice came from ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, or OPR. ICE describes OPR as the office responsible for detention inspections, employee and contractor misconduct investigations and applicant security checks. The office’s public description also says it handles external threats through building access controls and network security.
Court records suggest OPR’s remit now reaches farther into public speech about ICE employees. In an April court declaration, an ICE official said OPR investigated 131 matters involving alleged doxing and threats against ICE employees nationwide between January 2025 and March 2026.
How many of those investigations led to criminal cases is not clear. WIRED identified one Justice Department case that credited OPR’s work: a California man who pleaded guilty after prosecutors accused him of harassing an ICE attorney and her mother. Prosecutors said the conduct began in January 2024, before President Donald Trump returned to office. ICE did not answer questions about other cases or newer OPR investigations.
OPR has also appeared in efforts to force technology companies to identify online critics. In one case, court filings show OPR was behind an administrative subpoena seeking a poster’s name, address, phone number and other account information. Lawyers for the poster argued the demand violated free speech rights. The government withdrew the subpoena rather than defend it in court.
WIRED also identified another withdrawn administrative subpoena with a tracking number beginning “OPR-DC.” A person familiar with ICE told WIRED that prefix most likely tied it to OPR work. ICE did not say how many subpoenas OPR has sent to tech companies.
Doxing definition gets stretched
Trump administration officials have said threats against ICE officers have risen. A 2025 Los Angeles Times analysis questioned a frequently cited claim that attacks on ICE agents had increased by 1,000 percent.
Agency officials have also broadened how they talk about doxing. The term usually refers to publishing personal details such as a home address. Officials have used it to describe photographing or recording ICE employees while they are working, conduct free-speech experts say is lawful.
Laura Moraff, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, told WIRED that criminal convictions based on speech are possible only in narrow circumstances and that people have a First Amendment right to criticize the government online, including anonymously.
The Department of Homeland Security updated a privacy notice last year for ICE intelligence records, saying it would collect information on people who made credible threats against ICE staff or facilities. The notice said that could include social media posts, account information and location-related data.
In the April declaration, an ICE official said then-acting ICE director Todd Lyons signed a March 25 memo calling for investment in capabilities to protect employees from emerging threats, including doxing and online harassment. ICE declined to describe those investments.
Meanwhile, the Project on Government Oversight found that ICE published 102 detention facility inspection reports in 2025, down from 160 in 2024 and 192 the year before. In April written testimony to the House Appropriations Committee, Lyons highlighted OPR’s inspection, vetting and oversight work, but did not mention investigations of online posters.
Adam Steinbaugh, a senior attorney at the civil liberties group FIRE, told WIRED that congressional oversight is needed, especially when public-records delays make outside scrutiny harder. Gonyea said she plans to fight the administration in court.
This story draws on original reporting from WIRED.
