House opens probe into leaks that thwarted ICE arrests

The House Oversight Committee has opened an investigation into leaks that scuttled immigration arrests earlier this year, The Washington Times is first to report.

Rep. Clay Higgins said the leaks came from “deep state” actors within the administration and he wants to figure out who they were, and how they can be stopped.

“This is a catastrophic breach of federal immigration enforcement operations that jeopardizes the safety and security of every American,” the Louisiana Republican said. “My first investigation as chairman of the subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement will seek to hold these deep state leakers accountable.”

The leaks have been the subject of intense speculation, with some high-profile Trump team figures speculating that the FBI was the weak link.

Mr. Higgins asked for briefings from the FBI’s director as well as heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“The leaked plans tipped off dangerous criminals about imminent law enforcement actions, enabling them to evade apprehension and perpetuate the threat they pose to national security and the American public,” the chairman said in letters asking for the agencies’ cooperation with his probe.

In one instance, word of an impending ICE swoop through the Denver area to target members of Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang, was leaked.

Activists used bullhorns to warn migrants of the arrests. Federal agents found some of their target locations empty by the time they arrived.

The Los Angeles Times reported that impending arrests in California were also leaked ahead of time.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem boldly declared the FBI responsible.

“The FBI is so corrupt,” she wrote on social media.

The FBI has denied Ms. Noem’s speculation that it was responsible, calling it “unfounded” and “deeply irresponsible.”

The FBI’s involvement in immigration enforcement came because Ms. Noem deputized the bureau and other Justice Department law enforcement agencies to assist ICE with making arrests in the U.S. interior. That includes the DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals and the Bureau of Prisons.

They are providing bodies to help ICE when it has to go out in the community to make arrests, which usually requires teams of officers.

The Washington Times reported that when the FBI was called to help on an immigration operation in Chicago, some agents begged off, failing to show up.

White House border czar Tom Homan, a former head of ICE, said Tuesday on Fox News that the administration now knows the source of the leak from the Aurora, Colorado, arrests.

Ms. Noem, in a separate interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, said she had identified “some leakers” in her department, though she didn’t say which leaks they were responsible for.

“They will be fired,” she said.