ICE Investigating Online Critics: What It Means For You

ICE Investigating Online Critics: What It Means For You

ICE investigating online critics isn't just a hypothetical fear. It's happening right now, and the agency's own internal watchdog is leading the charge, a shift that highlights how quickly surveillance powers can expand into everyday speech. But this is real.

In June, during New York's primaries, ICE agents showed up at a polling site in Syracuse. They were there to confront a poll worker named Paigelynne Gonyea. Their target? An Instagram post she made months earlier.

The post demanded the indictment of Jonathan Ross, an ICE agent who shot and killed Renee Good during a federal incursion in Minneapolis. Gonyea credited the Minnesota Star Tribune for identifying Ross. But that was enough to trigger a visit from federal agents while she was trying to do her job at the polls. It's a chilling reality.

The Watchdog That Bites Citizens

Here is the part that should make you pause. It's a warning notice from ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility, or OPR , that's the exact document Gonyea was asked to sign.

OPR is an internal watchdog. Its job is inspecting detention facilities, investigating employee misconduct, and processing security checks, but it also manages badge access and network security to keep the entire agency running smoothly.

But court documents show OPR is now spending a lot of time pursuing civilians for what they say online. It's a big shift. Between January 2025 and March 2026, OPR investigated 131 cases involving "incidents of doxing and threats directed towards ICE employees nationwide," and that's a lot of people facing scrutiny for their digital words.

Gonyea refused to sign the warning. "My signature would have been an admission of guilt," she said. "I refused to sign it."

What Counts as a Threat?

That is the core question, and the answer is getting blurry. Doxing generally means publishing someone's home address or private details, but ICE officials have tried to expand that definition to include taking photographs and videos of agents performing their official duties. It's a dangerous shift.

Free speech experts say that activity is perfectly lawful. Yet the administration is pushing forward.

"It takes a lot to actually convict someone for their speech, and it's only possible in very limited circumstances," says Laura Moraff, a staff attorney at the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. "People do have a First Amendment right to criticize the government and to do that online and to do that anonymously."

Administrative Subpoenas Are Flying

OPR has been behind at least one of the recent flurry of administrative subpoenas sent to tech companies. It's a simple demand. But these subpoenas require the name, address, and phone number of online posters, so they're forcing companies to hand over personal data we'd normally expect to keep private.

In one case, lawyers for the poster argued the subpoena violated free speech rights. But the government withdrew it. They didn't want to fight the merits in court, so they dropped the whole thing rather than defending their position on those constitutional grounds.

Another withdrawn subpoena carried a tracking number starting with "OPR-DC." A source familiar with the agency says that likely means it came from OPR. But ICE declined to say how many of these subpoenas have been sent, so we're left with a frustrating lack of clarity on the total number issued, and it's impossible to know the full scope of their actions.

• OPR investigated 131 doxing and threat cases between January 2025 and March 2026.
• WIRED was able to identify only one instance when OPR was credited for its investigative work in a case where the Justice Department accused a California man of harassing an ICE attorney and her mother; that harassment campaign started in January 2024, before Trump took office.
• ICE published only 102 detention facility inspection reports in 2025, down from 160 in 2024 and 192 the year prior.

Your First Amendment Rights Are Real

Let me put it bluntly: criticizing the government online is protected speech. The government can only convict someone for speech in very limited circumstances.

But that doesn't stop them from trying to intimidate you. It's terrifying. A visit from federal agents at your workplace is a profoundly unsettling experience that can shake you to your core.

What These Numbers Actually Mean

OPR opened 131 cases in just over a year. That sounds like a lot. But how many resulted in criminal charges? ICE declined to answer. WIRED could only find one case where OPR was credited with investigative work, and that case involved a California man who harassed an ICE attorney and her mother, a campaign that started well before the current administration.

Todd Lyons, the acting ICE director, praised OPR's work inspecting facilities and vetting applicants during his congressional testimony. He didn't mention investigating online posters.

That's not popular. Adam Steinbaugh, a senior attorney at FIRE, says he can't imagine that his client would willingly go before Congress and openly admit they're speech police, which is exactly what the funding supports.

Gonyea plans to fight the administration in court. "I know that this issue is going to be bigger than me," she says, and she insists that "this is literally about protecting all Americans' right to free speech.

If you post online about ICE agents, understand that the agency's internal watchdog is watching. Your speech is legal. But you may need to hire a lawyer to prove it.