I know some of the individuals in this leak. There are people whose responsibilities are far removed from ICE’s activities. One department – who I will not name to avoid drawing attention to – focuses on investigating imports to ensure importers are not trying to get around tariffs as well as prevent foreign countries from “dumping.” (Intentionally flooding a market with underpriced products to bankrupt domestic suppliers and later raise prices.) Their work also helps to uncover the use of child labor by domestic companies who outsource production, like Nike and Underarmor.

I’m not against employee names and contact info being made public. That’s no different than someone’s business card being passed around. What I worry about is that all DHS employees get lumped together indifferently by disgruntled individuals and harassed using the information made available.

People who are (rightfully) angry by ICE’s activities in recent deportations, wrongful detaining of US citizens, and misuse of force are going to begin harassing these employees indiscriminately. I’ll admit that I don’t care if they do it to anyone listed as employed under ICE, but some departments elsewhere in CBP have actual positive purposes. Customs agents who scan incoming goods for invasive species, for example, help prevent the destruction of domestic plants.

I guess we just have to see how this info is used and what the effects will be.