WikiLeaks says it published ICE employees' LinkedIn profiles

Ryan W. Miller | USA TODAY

Professional information and LinkedIn profiles of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees were published in a searchable online database by WikiLeaks, the organization said Thursday.

"ICEPatrol" appeared to provide professional information and profiles from the professional social networking site of government employees.

Information such as job titles, work history, education and city of employment appeared on many of the profiles. It was not immediately clear how many employees were targeted, but the site said more than 9,300 profiles were listed.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"ICEPatrol is an important public resource for understanding ICE programs and increasing accountability, especially in light of the actions taken by ICE lately, such as the separation of children and parents at the US border," the organization said in a tweet.

RELEASE: ICEPatrol is a searchable archive of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees with LinkedIn profiles. WikiLeaks is publishing this dataset in searchable format after it was censored by Github and Medium.https://t.co/rKUR8UVEE8 pic.twitter.com/IbIs5PhSXn — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 22, 2018

The release comes amid heightened backlash against the Trump administration for a "zero tolerance" immigration policy that separated more than 2,000 children from their parents who illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that aims to stop the separation families while still keep a "zero tolerance" policy in place.

WikiLeaks also said it had previously tried to publish the information, but that it was "censored" by Github and Medium. Neither online platform immediately responded to a request for comment.

Founded by Julian Assange in 2006, WikiLeaks often publishes sensitive and secret information on government agencies, often from anonymous sources. WikiLeaks has previously released information and documents from the CIA, Defense Department and Democratic National Committee, among other organizations and federal agencies.

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