The officials of the Service Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)) freed nearly 3,000 undocumented immigrants what were they going to be deported so that they continue their cases of asylum inside the country, after their personal information, including dates of birth and places of detention, was inadvertently published online by the government, according to the Los Angeles Times.
On November 28, ICE mistakenly released a document on the internet with the identities, ages, and nationality, among other data, of 6,252 immigrants who were in its custody at that time, which claimed they were victims of torture and persecution in their countries of origin, applied for asylum in the United States, but the immigration authorities had decided to deport them.
After learning about the incident, the immigrants’ lawyers warned that the information disclosed could lead to retaliation against their clients by the individuals, gangs or governments they are fleeing and put them at risk of death.
Federal regulations prohibit the disclosure of personal information about applicants for asylum or other immigration protections without the approval of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Among the almost 3,000 migrants who have been released to continue their process in the United States is a group of 17 Cubans who were to be deported to the island last December.
ICE reported that they will review the cases of another 2,200 immigrants who are still in their custody for their possible release.
ICE officials will allow some immigrants affected by the disclosure of data apply for asylum, even if they normally would not have been eligible. The agency will not oppose efforts to reopen cases of immigrants affected by the leak.
Nevertheless, about a hundred asylum seekers affected by the publication of their data were deported by ICE last year. The agency has said it is willing to help these immigrants return to the United States and apply for political asylum.
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