Marsha Blackburn Condemns Doxxing Efforts Against ICE Agents

Forbes Breaking News

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) spoke about doxxing efforts against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Transcript

00:00Indeed, we are watching closely what the cartels are doing on social media.

00:05It is a point of concern.

00:07Senator Klobuchar and I've done a lot of work in that space.

00:10Mr. Stevens, I want to come to you in your role there at HSI.

00:15And I think that you probably recognize how important state and local participation with ICE is

00:23as we are apprehending criminal, the criminal element in these gang members that are tied to Tranda, Aragua, and MS-13.

00:35One of the things I've worked on for the last several years is the CLEAR Act,

00:40which that legislation would codify the 287G program

00:44and thereby enabling local and state partners to more easily work with, pardon me, with ICE.

00:58And I know you started out as a state police officer.

01:03Talk a little bit about the importance of having that state and local participation with ICE

01:10as we do these apprehensions.

01:13Thank you for your question, ma'am.

01:15This is extremely important.

01:17As the special agent in charge for HSI El Paso, I have a very unique footprint.

01:21I have a boot in the state of western Texas or the western district of Texas

01:27where we have extreme support from law enforcement.

01:29We're able to work with all the state and local agencies.

01:33I also have a boot in New Mexico, which has more regulations.

01:38I have successes in all of those locations

01:41because I have great partnerships, but it shouldn't depend on great partnerships.

01:45In my role as a special agent in charge, I have to have political conversations

01:49with law enforcement leaders instead of public safety conversations.

01:53Our goal as public safety leaders across our agencies is to be able to go in

01:58and see how we can most help our state and local partners

02:02because I wished as a state trooper I would have known what I knew now.

02:07And so for me, having that ability to have those conversations

02:10without putting my state and local partners in a bad position

02:15with their mayors or city councils or governors, that's extremely important.

02:20So codifying 287G would simplify that process?

02:25Yes, ma'am.

02:25Thank you for that.

02:27Last week, I had the opportunity to do an ICE ride-along in Nashville

02:33and see firsthand how the process is working

02:38and also to talk with our ICE agents in Nashville.

02:43I think there's a lot of concern about the increase of assaults,

02:47a 500 percent increase on these agents in the last few weeks.

02:52One of the things we've done in response to the mayor of Nashville

02:58and his office that doxed our federal law enforcement officers, ICE and HSI,

03:06as they were conducting some of these raids,

03:09they've apprehended 554 illegal aliens, criminal illegal aliens, since May.

03:17So it's been quite an effort.

03:21But we did legislation that would make it illegal to dox federal law enforcement officers

03:30and immigration officials.

03:33And we're surprised that that had not been done,

03:38and so we have legislation with committee right now that would do that.

03:44I wish that I could hear very quickly from each of you,

03:50just 10 seconds or so, about how these efforts to dox law enforcement,

03:57including our ICE officers, ultimately jeopardize their safety, security, and their families.

04:06So, Mr. Stevens, I'll start with you.

04:09Thank you, ma'am.

04:10I've experienced that with one of my own employees who was photographed during an operation.

04:16It was put out on Instagram,

04:17and the individual that had posted that had indicated that the community needs to remind him

04:22where he came from and where he was.

04:26And so, for me, that's extremely, extremely important.

04:29My employee felt such threat from that that he completely changed his appearance

04:34to be able to protect his family when he's off duty and out in the community with them.

04:38Mr. Perez?

04:39Thank you, ma'am.

04:40Yes, that would be significant, any type of legislation to prevent that.

04:43It's a significant threat.

04:45The doxing poses a tremendous vulnerability.

04:47Just to highlight one example we're currently dealing with,

04:49an agent is being threatened with photos.

04:53The problem is exacerbated by social media, by technology that allows him to maybe quickly identify somebody through a photo.

04:58But in this doxing incident, the agent is being threatened, but also with pictures of his children,

05:03to back down on the operations that are ongoing at the fear of doxing or potentially some type of threats towards his family.

05:10So, a significant threat that we're concerned with, ma'am.

05:13My time is expired.

05:14Mr. Allen, quickly, anything to add?

05:17Yes, ma'am.

05:18I would say doxing is clearly an attempt by others to keep law enforcement from doing their jobs

05:22through the threat of exposure, through the threat of violence,

05:26and putting people's families out for, you know, public scrutiny.

05:32Your back.

05:34Senator Rinald.

05:35Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

05:36We all know that there is...

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