ICE Leaks: Trump Officials Push For Criminal Charges Against Whistleblowers And Press

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For the past month, national security officials in President Donald Trump's administration have expressed anger over alleged leaks involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids throughout the country, including in California, Chicago, the greater Denver area in Colorado, and northern Virginia. 

While revealing little information about the leaks themselves, Trump officials have been vocal about their intentions to punish anyone who shares information about ICE raids with the press, claiming that circulation of this information puts agents’ lives at risk.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on March 7 that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had identified “two leakers of information.” Noem said that she was prepared to refer the alleged leakers to the Department of Justice for "felony prosecutions," and that the individuals would face up to 10 years in federal prison. [Note: At the time of publication, there was no publicly available information about these potential media sources.]

So far, there has been no mention of the Espionage Act, which Trump used to punish multiple media sources during his first term. However, Lora Ries, the director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at the Heritage Foundation, told The Washington Stand that media sources are “obstructing justice, which is a violation of 18 U.S.C. sec. 1512(c)(2) and (k), and obstructing a federal proceeding in violation of 18 U.S.C. sections 2 and 1505.”

Obstructing justice carries up to 10 years of imprisonment, and obstructing a federal proceeding carries a prison sentence of up to five years. 

The Heritage Foundation is the right-wing think tank that wrote Project 2025, a proposed initiative to concentrate more power in the Executive Branch of the U.S. government. Trump  appointed a number of the authors to leadership positions. The Washington Stand is published by the Family Research Council, which is a prominent religious right organization.

"Leakers and doxers have not been punished the last several years so they view their obstruction as low risk, high reward," Ries stated. "We need very public examples made of some to halt the behavior. Firing is not enough because they will be quickly rehired by leftist organizations."

In fact, former acting ICE director Jonathan Fahey appeared on Fox News on March 3 and mentioned, “People could be charged with obstruction of justice, which is a federal felony, carries up to 10 years in prison, and it’s really justified here."

If the Trump administration pursues such charges, it will represent a concerted attack on potential whistleblowers or media sources that share information about ICE operations.

On March 5, during an appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News show, Noem claimed that leaks have been a widespread problem for the administration’s attempts to conduct deportations.

“Just on the way here I got another notification of another leak, and I can’t do anything without it getting leaked,” Noem told Hannity. “That’s why we need to have so many ops all over the country all the time that it doesn’t slow us down.”

As Noem insisted, “I’m gonna prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law, and I’m gonna make an example out of them.” She even directed DHS to use polygraph tests to find media sources.

Other Trump officials, like United States Attorney General Pam Bondi and "border czar" Tom Homan, have spoken with Fox News about the alleged leaks. Former DHS and ICE officials have gone on the network to call for leak prosecutions too.

On Laura Ingraham’s show, former DHS official Chad Wolf said, “Whether you're an internal to DHS or the FBI or whoever and you're leaking this information, or you're a leftwing agitator trying to stop ICE from doing this, I think you know the Justice Department and others need to take a hard look at this and hold some of those individuals accountable, and make an example out of them." 

On February 9, Bondi went on Fox News and declared, “If you leaked it we will find out who you are and we will come after you.” Fox News anchor Kevin Corke then asked what could potentially be done to punish activists who inform their communities about ICE raids.

Referring to activists in the Denver area who warned their neighbors about ICE raids, Corke added, “I’m not sure if that rises to the level of obstruction, [but] what if anything can be done about that?”

Bondi responded, “It very well could rise to the level of obstruction, and we will be looking at every single case where someone jeopardizes the lives of the great men and women in law enforcement, and you will be held accountable if you leak, if you do anything…that could jeopardize their lives. We will come after you.”

A fact check published by Sentinel, a weekly newspaper in Aurora, Colorado, highlighted how Trump officials have provided no evidence that media reports and local activism in the Denver area have hindered ICE operations.

Additionally, despite talk from the Trump administration about leaks putting the lives of ICE agents at risk, an investigation by Business Insider, The Trace, and Type Investigations found that ICE agents were responsible for 23 fatal shootings from 2015 to 2021. The report further demonstrates that ICE agents have a history of recklessly firing weapons during operations, putting people’s lives at risk. This doesn't even include the dozens of preventable deaths of people in ICE detention centers.

However widespread the leaks actually are, it is apparent that Trump officials are on the offensive to discourage leaks, and may retaliate against anyone who exercises free speech and talks with the press about ICE operations. Concernedly, Fox News appears to be playing a role in this offensive.

Finally, the hosts of "Fox and Friends," as well as Ingraham and Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, suggested that police should go after journalist Pablo Manríquez for his reporting on planned ICE raids in northern Virginia. Manríquez, who they pejoratively labeled an activist and a "fraud," is credentialed to cover the White House for his publication known as the Migrant Insider.   

Immigrants and the press alike have been consistent targets of Trump and the MAGA movement. In this push for a legal crackdown on ICE raid leaks, Trump officials and right-wing media have found a way to rally opposition to both groups at the same time.