Representative Mannion Demands Answers From Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin After ICE Agents Target Syracuse Poll Worker Over First Amendment-Protected Activity

SYRACUSE, NY - Representative John W. Mannion (NY-22) today sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding answers after out of state ICE agents delivered an unsigned warning letter to a poll worker over her personal social media activity. Representative Mannion urged DHS to immediately review the incident, explain why ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility was involved, and halt any agency activity that targets speech protected by the First Amendment.

The full text is below and can be found here:

The Honorable Markwayne Mullin

Secretary

Department of Homeland Security

2707 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE

Washington, DC 20528

Dear Secretary Mullin,

I write with deep concern regarding a recent incident involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Syracuse, New York. I urge your Department to promptly review this incident and put a stop to any ICE activities that target protected speech under the First Amendment.

On Tuesday, June 23 - during New York's primary elections - two ICE agents delivered a warning letter to a poll worker in downtown Syracuse threatening her with federal and state prosecution over her personal social media use. The letter was delivered on behalf of the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) - an office that is supposed to be investigating employee misconduct at ICE. The document itself contained errors, lacked specificity, and was not signed by an agent.

This widely reported incident has raised considerable civil liberties concerns. ICE should not be broadly targeting online speech or actively monitoring social media accounts without cause and without proper judicial protections.

While true threats to federal agents are never permissible and should be investigated, I have not seen anything to suggest that is what occurred in this case. Instead, it appears that this operation was designed to intimidate citizens for criticizing the agency's enforcement activities, including the tragic killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

An engaged citizenry must always be free to criticize public officials, demand transparency, and hold leaders accountable for abuses of power. As your Department works to review this incident and take steps to prevent future activities that could violate the First Amendment rights of individuals, I request answers to the following questions regarding the recent incident that took place in Central New York:

1. Who gave the order to deliver this letter, and why were the agents sent on primary Election Day?

1. How many Americans have been asked by ICE to sign a similar document to the one presented in this case?

1. What standards or agency guidance is ICE relying on in deciding whether to deliver such letters?

1. According to ICE's website, OPR is tasked with upholding the agency's professional standards, investigating allegations of employee misconduct, and protecting the public trust - not policing Americans' first amendment rights. How is the incident that took place in Syracuse, NY consistent with OPR's mission to uphold the agency's professional standards?

1. Please precisely describe the resources and personnel that OPR is allocating towards monitoring social media accounts.

1. For what purpose are recipient signatures requested on these notices? How does the OPR intend to interpret these signatures as well as refusals to sign?

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I ask for your response by Friday, July 10. 

Sincerely, 

John W. Mannion 

Member of Congress

CC: Jennifer Fenton, Associate Director, ICE OPR