Alec Tabak for New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll asked the Washington D.C. Court of Appeals Thursday evening to find that former President Donald Trump “acted outside the scope of his federal employment” when he allegedly defamed her in 2019.
Trump has sought to have the United States substitute as the defendant in Carroll’s defamation lawsuit, but for that to happen, the D.C. Court of Appeals, which retains jurisdiction over the conduct of federal employees, must determine Trump was acting in his official capacity as president when he allegedly implied Carroll was too ugly to rape and had invented her story to sell a book.
“Trump and the Department of Justice, for their part, have responded to that development by asking this Court to announce a categorical rule that elected officials always and automatically act within their employment whenever they address the public. This Court should reject that position and hold that Trump acted outside the scope of his federal employment when he repeatedly defamed Carroll in June 2019,” Carroll’s latest filing said.
Carroll’s lawsuit is set for trial in April 2023. The substitution of the United States for Trump would, however, end the case, since the federal government cannot be sued for defamation.
“Trump’s defamatory statements targeting Carroll after she revealed that he had raped her were outside the scope of his employment as President: he acted with private motives, and not in furtherance of any official federal purpose or function, in seeking to punish and humiliate Carroll for revealing his decades-old crime,” the filing said.
Carroll last week filed a new lawsuit alleging Trump defamed her more recently in a series of posts on his social medial platform Truth Social.
Carroll previously sued Trump for defamation over statements he made in 2019 when he denied her claim that he raped her in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s. Her new lawsuit alleged a second claim of defamation over statements Trump made last month. It also alleged battery as she seeks to hold him accountable for the sexual assault that he has long denied.
In the new lawsuit, she alleges defamation and battery under a new law in New York that allows adult sex assault victims to file claims that would otherwise be barred by the passage of time.
New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which took effect on Thanksgiving, opens a one-year window for adult victims to file claims.
Carroll’s first lawsuit is pending the outcome of a January proceeding in the D.C. Court of Appeals.
Kanye West has been suspended from Twitter after a post on his account appeared to show a swastika inside a Star of David. The post arrived just hours after he made antisemitic remarks and praised Adolf Hitler in an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Elon Musk, who’s owned Twitter for just five weeks, tweeted in response to the now-deleted image that West — also known as Ye — posted on Thursday night.
“I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended,” Musk wrote.
It was not immediately clear how long the rapper and fashion mogul would be suspended for.
Ye returned to Twitter on November 21 after Musk took over the company and reinstated a number of high-profile accounts of users who had previously been banned or restricted under guidelines that were in place before his takeover.
Ye has caused controversy over the past several months by making a series of antisemitic remarks. Just last month, Adidas — among other companies — ended its partnership with the rapper over his hateful speech. Adidas said the move would cost them up to $246 million in profits this year.
(LA FAYETTE, Ala.) — James Michael Grimes is speaking out for the first time in an exclusive interview with ABC News after going overboard on a Carnival cruise ship after being missing for almost 20 hours.
The 28-year-old man said he was determined to make it out of the Gulf of Mexico alive, calling it the experience of a lifetime.
Grimes said he treaded water for nearly 20 hours after falling overboard on Thanksgiving Eve — battling jelly fish, rip currents and shark-infested waters before being airlifted by the U.S. Coast Guard on Nov. 24. shortly after 8 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard told ABC News.
“Good Morning America” will have an exclusive interview with James Michael Grimes that will air Friday at 7 a.m. ET.
Grimes had only been aboard the Carnival Valor for a day before his sister reported him missing. The two were last seen together at a restaurant where Grimes had won an air guitar contest before going to the bathroom.
That is the last thing he remembers. Grimes said he believes the fall overboard knocked him unconscious.
“The next thing I know… I regained consciousness. I was in the water with no boat in sight,” he said.
Alone in solid darkness, and the light from the stars and the moon, Grimes decided in that moment he would make it out of the water.
“I felt like I was given a chance right then… you’re alive for a reason… that [fall] could’ve killed me, but I felt like from that moment on, I was trying to stay positive. And, you know when you’re here, you’re still alive for a reason. So, all you got to do now is swim and survive. I was hoping… they will start looking for me… they will find me eventually,” Grimes said.
Grimes was aboard the five-day cruise with 18 of his family members for Thanksgiving. When he didn’t return to his cabin that night, his sister reported him missing.
The ship was on its way to Cozumel, a Mexican island in the Caribbean, and was released by the Coast Guard to continue to its destination after the rescue was made.
“The Jayhawk aircrew hoisted the man onto the helicopter and transferred him to awaiting emergency medical services at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport,” a statement from the Coast Guard read.
“We are beyond grateful that this case ended with a positive outcome,” said Lt. Seth Gross, a Coast Guard Sector New Orleans search-and-rescue mission coordinator.
“We greatly appreciate the efforts of all, most especially the U.S. Coast Guard and the mariner who spotted the guest in the water,” the Coast Guard said in a statement Thursday to ABC News. “Cruise ships have safety barriers in all public areas that are regulated by U.S. Coast Guard standards that prevent a guest from falling off. Guests should never ever climb up on the rails. The only way to go overboard is to purposefully climb up and over the safety barriers.”
Carnival Valor had said in a statement to ABC News that it conducted a search-and-rescue operation after Grimes went missing.
“Carnival Valor retraced its route to support the search and rescue, but the ship has now been released by the U.S. Coast Guard, and will continue on its way to Cozumel. Carnival’s Care Team is providing support to the family members of the missing guest who were sailing with him and remain on board,” the statement at the time said.
Against all odds, Grimes said he kept a positive attitude and “just kept swimming.”
In addition to his attitude, he said it was his will to see his family again that kept him afloat.
“I wanted to see my family and I was dead set on making it out of there. I was never accepting that this is it, this is going to be the end of my life. I’m 28 years old. I’m too young. This is not going to be it,” Grimes said.
“I always thought there’s a greater purpose for my life. Now, I know for sure I’m meant to do something on this Earth. And, you know, I don’t know. It was just the Lord was out there helping me, giving me strength and helping me stay afloat,” he added.
ABC News’ Victoria J. Arancio contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden plans to meet Prince William and Kate on Friday during their first visit to the U.S. in eight years.
“The president intends to greet the Prince and Princess of Wales when he is in Boston,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday.
The Prince of Wales’ media team also confirmed that a meeting would take place, which Biden’s schedule later said would be at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.
Jean-Pierre said the administration was “still finalizing and working through the details” and declined to share any more specifics on what the greeting would entail. The White House previously announced that Biden would be in Boston on Friday for a Democratic fundraiser.
The British royals are stateside for the Earthshot Prize Ceremony, which awards $1 million prizes to winners of projects focused on resolving climate issues by 2030.
“Like President Kennedy, Catherine and I firmly believe that we all have it in ourselves to achieve great things and that human beings have the ability to lead, innovate and problem solve,” Prince William said during their first stop outside Boston City Hall.
The trip also included a Celtics basketball game on Wednesday, where the royal couple was seated next to Massachusetts Gov.-elect Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. On Friday, William will tour the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library with Caroline Kennedy, the late president’s daughter.
It’s the royal duo’s first overseas visit since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in September, and the first since taking on the royal titles of Prince and Princess of Wales.
An agent in charge of the Diplomatic Security Service’s Boston field office, the agency that makes up the royals’ protective detail, told ABC News preparations started in September, and have involved 11 law enforcement agencies.
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to London for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. They commemorated Queen Elizabeth’s “history-making reign” after her death, stating she was a “stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock Alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States.”
The Bidens paid tribute to the queen as her coffin lay in Westminster Hall, and attended King Charles III’s reception at Buckingham Palace.
Prior to that, Jill Biden and Kate met during the Group of Seven, or G-7, summit in Cornwall, England. The two women visited a school that works with students who have experienced trauma in their lives.
“Early childhood education is so important to lay the foundation for all of our students,” Jill Biden said during the visit, and thanked Kate for inviting her. The princess said it was a “huge honor” to have the U.S. first lady in the United Kingdom.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez and Janice McDonald contributed to this report.
Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
(WASHINGTON) — Health officials are warning of a “triple threat” of flu, RSV and COVID-19 across the country and hospitals are continuing to see a surge in pediatric RSV cases.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy joined GMA3 to discuss how people can best prepare themselves for the winter months, what this flu season will look like, and how the federal government is working with hospitals and health care workers across the country.
GMA3: Doctor, good to have you with us, as always. I know you have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time, but we’re talking about flu, RSV and COVID. Can you give us an idea, though, which one of these is kind of your leading concern, given what we’re seeing in hospitals?
MURTHY: Well, it’s so good to be with all of you again. Look, I think we have to be cognizant that all three; COVID, RSV, and the flu are threats… The good news is that we are not powerless in the face of these viruses. There is something we can do to help prevent our kids and adults from getting these.
And this is very personal for me too, my two small kids who are 4 and 6. They’ve both been sick this winter with various viruses. I was in the emergency room myself with my daughter, who was ill a couple of weeks ago. So I know how this feels for parents who are scared and worried out there.
Well, with COVID and the flu, the good news is we have vaccines available and the most important job of these vaccines is to save your life and keep you out of the hospital. And by that measure, they are working well.
So I would urge parents to please get your children and get yourself vaccinated for COVID and the flu. You can do that at the same time by the way. For RSV, it turns out that that virus spreads similar to other viruses.
And taking measures like staying home if you’re sick, avoiding contact with those who are sick, making sure you’re washing your hands regularly. These can all help us with reducing the spread of the virus.
Let’s keep this in mind because it’s more important than ever, especially as hospitals are filling up, children’s hospitals in particular, that we take these measures because they’re one way that we can take care of our kids, but also relieve the strain on health care workers.
GMA3: Dr. Murthy, I hope you don’t mind us asking, though, as you mentioned your kids, are the little ones okay?
MURTHY: Well, thank you so much for asking. Yes, thankfully, we were blessed to be able to get good care for my daughter. Their doctors and nurses took great care of her and she was in the hospital for about the better part of a day, but was able to come home. And she’s much better now. Thank you.
GMA3: And Vivek, it’s Jen. Nice to talk to you again. I want to stay on RSV for a second because as you know, there are some hospitals in certain parts of the country that are at or approaching 100% capacity for their pediatric beds, even though elderly people are also affected by RSV. What in particular is being done at the hospital level to help them with resources that they need?
MURTHY: Yeah, I’m glad you raised this because I think many people may not realize this strain on our hospital systems right now. And this is a strain not just due to RSV, but for the last two and a half years.
Our nurses, doctors, pharmacists, health care workers have been dealing with waves of COVID, and they are under great strain now. We have been cognizant of this and working very closely with health care systems, with the medical associations and with states and local jurisdictions directly.
We’re doing several things. Number one, we’re offering them direct support when they need it in terms of personnel, ventilators, equipment. We are also working closely with them to coordinate so that across a given region or a state, beds can be utilized and at the most efficient, so that even if one hospital doesn’t have beds, they can work with other institutions that may have space, you know, in their region.
And we’re staying closely aligned with them to provide additional trainings and support as needed. So we’re all in this together.
We’re going to stay working closely with these institutions to make sure they have the resources they need. But keep in mind that if you want to help the hospital systems one of the most important things you can do is to get vaccinated for COVID and flu, to reach for Paxlovid, which is a medication to treat COVID-19 if you’re in a high risk group. These are some of the best ways to keep people out of the hospital, and our hospitals need all the support that they can get right now.
GMA3: Dr. Murthy, I want to talk about influenza now. According to the CDC, two thirds of states here in this country are reporting high or very high levels of influenza-like activity. Talk about why we’re seeing these high numbers so early and what your concerns are heading into the winter months.
MURTHY: Hmm. So it’s a good question. The last couple of years have been very unusual for flu and RSV. You know, during the early years of COVID, when people were isolated, taking precautions, including wearing masks, we actually saw very low rates of flu and RSV compared to normal years.
And now as we come back to normal and as you know, more and more people are getting back to their day to day lives. We’re seeing these viruses come back and at some point they will equilibrate.
But this year, we have seen RSV and flu come earlier than normal. The good news with RSV is we’re in some parts of the country is starting to see a slowing, if you will, of the rate of rise. And that might indicate that a peak may be coming soon. We don’t know exactly when that will be, but those are some promising signs across the country.
But the bottom line is, you know, we can’t let up our guard. We have to take the precautions that we need to prevent the spread of these viruses, like washing our hands, wearing masks in crowded indoor spaces, and like making sure that we’re staying home if we’re sick. And of course, again, with COVID and flu, please get vaccinated as soon as you can. Winter is here. Cases are high and we want people to be protected.
GMA3: What’s your prediction right now? A potential COVID surge this winter, given what you’re seeing right now?
MURTHY: Well, I think we have to be prepared for the fact that we will see a rise in COVID cases in some parts of the country. We’re already seeing cases start to go up. But I do think that we will be in a better place than we were in the last two winters when we had surges.
And the reason I think we’ll be in a better place is that we have more people who have protection, either from vaccinations or from prior infection. We also have medications like Paxlovid to treat those who are in high risk groups like the elderly.
So the bottom line is, I do think we’ll be in a better position, but we need people to use these tools. And one thing that’s worth underscoring is if people are up to date with their vaccines, if they’ve gotten especially the updated COVID-19 booster vaccine… gotten your last shot two months or out, you’re now eligible to get.
If you updated your vaccines and if you reach for Paxlovid, you know, if you are in fact, in a high risk group and get sick, your chances of dying from COVID are really, really low. And so right now, we’re losing between 300 to 400 people a day to COVID-19.
The most — and most of those deaths are actually preventable if you’re up to date with your vaccines, if you reach for medications like Paxlovid, if you do get sick and we want people to know about that so they can be safe.
Get ready to laugh because Deon Cole‘s new comedy special Charleen’s Boy is out on Netflix now.
In his second special with the streamer, Cole shares his comical take on life and dating in today’s society. While the project brings more than a few laughs, the background is much more emotional, as the special is dedicated to and named after his late mother.
“My mom passed about a year ago and I don’t have no brothers and sisters and nothing like that or father that [she] was like my only rock, you know, my everything. I did everything for her. When she passed away, it just left a void,” he tells ABC Audio.
Additionally, Charleen’s Boy was filmed on the anniversary of his mother’s death, though that wasn’t the plan originally.
“I wasn’t even supposed to shoot, especially on that day,” the black-ish star says before explaining that it was the only day available. “I didn’t want to do it…but then a few days later, I just kept feeling this energy like, nah don’t mourn that day, just celebrate her that day.”
The change of heart also prompted a change in the name of the Netflix special which he revealed was previously titled called Cole Facts.
“I changed it to Charleen’s Boy because I felt like when people see it it’d be the name of the special, but it also be what I am and, you know, make sure her name ring forever,” Coles explains. “So it was special to shoot that day instead of mourning that day. I celebrated that.”
ABC Audio has confirmed that the third season of Disney+’s Emmy-winning hit The Mandalorian will debut on the streaming service on March 1. As seen in The Book of Boba Fett, Pedro Pascal‘s Din Djarin reunites with little Grogu, who refuses Luke Skywalker’s offer to train him in the ways of the Jedi. As a teaser released two months ago showed, the unlikely “wolf-and-cub” duo will travel the stars, reuniting with old friends and frenemies, and battling new threats. Disney is the parent company of ABC News…
The NYPD identified a body found in the Bronx as actor Frank Vallelonga Jr., best known for his role in the 2018 film Green Book, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The 60-year-old actor played a relative of Viggo Mortensen‘s bouncer Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga. In real life he was the son of the bouncer portrayed in the film, who was also an actor best known for playing crime boss Carmine Lupertazzi in The Sopranos. Vallelonga Sr. died in 2013. The police found Vallelonga Jr. unconscious and unresponsive, but with no observable trauma, early Monday morning on the ground outside of a sheet-metal factory. He was pronounced dead at the scene…
Deadline reports The Terminal List‘s Riley Keough has been tapped to executive produce and star in Under the Bridge, the Hulu limited series based on Rebecca Godfrey’s book. Keough will play the late author Godfrey in the adaptation of the 1997 true story of 14-year-old Reena Virk, who went to join friends at a party and never returned home. Keough next will be seen playing the titular character in Prime Video’s upcoming original series Daisy Jones & The Six…
Angela Bassett will be honored with the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Montecito Award on February 9, 2023 during an in-person conversation about her career leading up to this year’s performance in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Named after the stylish Santa Barbara area, the Montecito Award is given to a person in the entertainment industry who has made a great contribution to film. Past winners include Penélope Cruz, Amanda Seyfried, Lupita Nyong’o, Melissa McCarthy, Saoirse Ronan, Isabelle Huppert, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, Daniel Day-Lewis, Geoffrey Rush, Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts and Javier Bardem. The 38th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place February 8-18, 2023…
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said it will review the legality of President Joe Biden’s federal student loan debt relief plan, putting borrowers on track to get clarity on the fate of the program by next summer.
The program, which would grant up to either $10,000 or $20,000 in federal debt relief to student borrowers who make under a certain income, depending on the kind of loan they used, has been blocked by lower courts since November. The administration initially planned to start rolling out cancellations by the end of this month.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments in February, allowing the case an expedited schedule, and is expected to make a decision by the end of June, when the term ends. February’s arguments are also likely to give insight into how the justices view the program.
But the program will remain on hold until the final decision comes down, despite requests from the Biden administration to allow it to proceed while the case plays out in court.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement later Thursday that “we welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case.” The program is “legal, supported by careful analysis from administration lawyers,” she said.
Twenty-six million people applied before the program was paused, according to the Department of Education, and 16 million peoples’ applications were reviewed and authorized for relief — though no loan cancellations were dispatched before court orders blocked the program.
The current legal limbo poses a major threat to Biden’s pledge to cancel student loan debt for up to 43 million Americans. He first made such a promise during his 2020 presidential campaign and reiterated it during the 2022 midterm elections, when he repeatedly told crowds of supporters he believed he was on solid legal ground and would win out over Republican attacks on the plan.
Conservatives and other critics said loan debt forgiveness was beyond the power of a president and that it would unfairly penalize people who either didn’t take out loans or who had paid them off.
“As soon as I announced my administration’s plan on student debt, they started attacking it, saying all kinds of things. Their outrage is wrong and it’s hypocritical,” Biden said in late October at a rally at Delaware State University. “We’re not letting them get away with it.”
“I’m completely confident my plan is legal,” Biden reiterated in a video on Twitter in late November.
But while early court cases against the program were thrown out for lack of standing — that is, for lack of someone or some entity showing they were harmed by it — subsequent challenges were more successful. An appeals court in Missouri and a district court in Texas, in two separate cases, ruled that the program was unlawful and an overreach of the Biden administration’s powers.
Those decisions left the program in a precarious position just as student loan payments were set to restart for the first time in nearly two years, after a lengthy COVID-19 pandemic pause — eventually leading Biden to once again extend a moratorium on loan payments that began under President Donald Trump.
Payments will not begin again until the fate of the program is decided, Biden announced in November, instead of Jan. 1, as originally planned.
Student loan payments will resume either 60 days after the Supreme Court issues a decision on the relief program, the administration said, or 60 days after June 30 — whichever comes first.
“Callous efforts to block student debt relief in the courts have caused tremendous financial uncertainty for millions of borrowers who cannot set their family budgets or even plan for the holidays without a clear picture of their student debt obligations, and it’s just plain wrong,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a November statement announcing the extension on the moratorium.
“We’re extending the payment pause because it would be deeply unfair to ask borrowers to pay a debt that they wouldn’t have to pay, were it not for the baseless lawsuits brought by Republican officials and special interests,” he said then.
Conservative groups have brought lawsuits arguing that Biden’s plan exceeds his administration’s authority, that the program unfairly excludes Americans who won’t receive debt relief and that certain loan servicers will lose revenue.
The most significant suit, the one coming before the Supreme Court, was brought by six conservative states: Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina.
But the Biden administration argued that the debt cancellation was squarely within the authority of the Education Department, which oversees federal loans, because the department is supposed to look out for borrowers during national emergencies, like the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Indeed, the entire purpose of the HEROES Act is to authorize the Secretary to grant student-loan-related relief to at-risk borrowers because of a national emergency — precisely what the Secretary did here,” Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in a Supreme Court filing.
It is the secretary’s job “to ensure that borrowers affected by a national emergency are not worse off in relation to their student loans,” Prelogar argued, and if the Department of Education didn’t act to cancel debts, there could be a “spike” in loan defaults when the pause on student loan payments lifts.
Overall, the program is expected to cost around $400 billion, according to an estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
(SAN ANTONIO, Texas) — A grand jury has indicted former San Antonio Police officer James Brennand on two counts of aggravated assault and one count of attempted murder after he allegedly shot at unarmed 17-year-old Erik Cantu in a McDonald’s parking lot.
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales announced the indictment at a Thursday press conference.
He said his office’s civil rights division will now proceed with the prosecution in the case, including a possible trial, in order to attempt to convict Brennand.
Police body camera video of the Oct. 22 incident shows Brennand opening Cantu’s car door and demanding he exit the vehicle in a McDonald’s parking lot. Cantu, who was eating a burger at the time, proceeded to back up and drive off while Brennand fired his gun several times.
Cantu suffered injuries to his stomach, diaphragm, lungs, liver, bicep, and forearm, spending weeks on life support. He was released from the hospital on Thanksgiving week.
Brennand was fired from the San Antonio Police Department just a few days after the shooting. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus confirmed his actions violated department tactics, training and procedures.
Brennand was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public servant and one attempted murder count. He could face a life sentence.
Gonzales said his office will seek the “maximum punishment” for Brennand, saying it “appears to be appropriate.”
“Justice means prosecuting the individual for misconduct. Justice means obtaining a conviction. Justice means making sure that man never works as a member of law enforcement, making sure that that man never has a gun and a badge,” Gonzales said. “Justice means seeking appropriate punishment.”
“I hope that by vigorously investigating and prosecuting this case, we can help to decrease the pain in our system, even if we can never bear all the pain and suffering that Eric and his family have experienced,” he added.
Cantu’s attorney Ben Crump said in a statement that the announcement of the indictment was a “relief” for Cantu and his family.
“The grand jury’s decision to indict on an attempted murder charge and two counts of aggravated assault is a significant step toward justice — but there is still a long road ahead,” Crump said. “We will continue to fight for accountability and transparency through the legal process.”
Nico LaHood, whose firm LaHood & Norton Law Group represents Brennand, told ABC News the attempted murder by a public servant charge was atypical and rarely used because prosecutors must prove not just use of deadly force but “intent to kill.”
LaHood, a former Criminal District Attorney of Bexar County himself, maintains Brennand’s actions were “legally justified” and that further information revealed during legal proceedings will demonstrate that.
“Until this day, James Brennand has been tried in the court of public opinion, without the benefit of his side of the story being known,” LaHood said. “Already we have seen that the initial reports by rush to judgment attitude, have been contradicted by subsequent reporting that has examined the facts. We anticipate more information will be revealed that will further shed light on this incident.”
(WASHINGTON) — The names and personal information of more than 6,000 noncitizens were posted on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website erroneously, an ICE spokesperson told ABC News on Thursday.
The data breach occurred on Monday, according to an agency spokesperson.
“On November 28, 2022, while performing routine updates, a document was erroneously posted to ICE.gov for approximately five hours that included names and other personally identifiable information, along with immigration information, of approximately 6,000 noncitizens in ICE custody,” an ICE spokesperson told ABC News in a statement.
“Upon notification, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took swift action to immediately rectify the error. Though unintentional, this release of information is a breach of policy, and the agency is investigating the incident and taking all corrective actions necessary. ICE is notifying noncitizens impacted by the disclosure.”
The LA Times was first to report the news.
At 9:45 a.m. on Monday, an Excel spreadsheet was uploaded to ICE.gov that included the names and A-numbers of 6,252 noncitizens seeking protection, according to a source familiar with the situation. The Human Rights First immigration organization then alerted ICE to the issue at 1:53 p.m. and at 2:04 p.m ICE deleted the personally identifiable information tab from ICE.gov.
ICE is notifying the impacted noncitizens directly or their attorneys-of-record of the improper disclosure, according to a source familiar with the situation. This will allow noncitizens or their attorneys-of-record to determine whether the disclosure may impact the merits of their protection claim, according to the source.
As a routine part of an investigation into a data disclosure, ICE will identify through IP addresses entities that accessed the information and the official says ICE is monitoring the internet for any reposting of the data.
