U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) explained on Tuesday why the agency decided to lock down an account that was used to post warnings of dangerous aliens who were released into American communities, often citing city policies that released the aliens before ICE officers could take them into custody.
The account, @ICEAlerts, was created in 2013 and was extensively used during former President Trump's administration. The last tweet was sent on January 21, 2021.
"It seems the Biden Admin locked @ICEAlerts because if you were to report the location of one of these dangerous aliens to ICE, it would become too obvious that these assaulters, drug dealers, thieves, and drunk drivers are now allowed to go free under Biden's policies," Jon Feere, former senior advisor to the ICE Director and chief of staff, tweeted.
It's worse than people realize. For example, the Biden Admin apparently doesn't want you to report to ICE this illegal alien charged with sex abuse of a minor. He was previously released by the NYPD: pic.twitter.com/rqXKuOFA8K
— Jon Feere (@JonFeere) March 2, 2021
The Biden Administration spends more time securing the @ICEAlerts account than they do securing our Southern Border… pic.twitter.com/4AWoCzXZ85
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) March 2, 2021
An ICE spokesperson said the account being locked is consistent with "accounts associated with prior administrations" being "archived," though typically social media accounts that are archived are still able to be viewed since they are not locked.
"ICE continues to use its main Twitter account, @ICEgov, and our regional Twitter accounts to communicate with the public about our national security, border security, and public safety mission. ICE also uses our website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Flickr to communicate with all our stakeholders, including local jurisdictions," the ICE spokesperson said in a statement.
"ICE routinely updates its many communication tools to ensure accurate information remains consist with current priorities. As with similar accounts associated with prior administrations’ policies, @ICEalerts was archived as it was no longer being maintained," they continued. "ICE continues to focus its civil immigration enforcement on the common-sense priorities of national security, border security, and public safety."