NY AG Letitia James gets hundreds of taunts, racial slurs in ICE public reporting portal
Public officials have used the internet to solicit feedback from constituents to assist them in conducting investigations, reviews or to hear opinions about new rules. For New York Attorney General Letitia James, it became an avalanche of countless racial slurs, sexually abusive language and other taunting comments.
James’ office launched the portal on Oct. 22 to gather information about federal immigration officers’ conduct throughout the Empire State after hearing allegations of misconduct in New York City. It’s an effort several other Democratic attorneys general launched to gather more information as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security expanded its targeted immigration operations.
Several comments, obtained by Straight Arrow via a public information request, alerted James’ office about potential illegal activity.
“On January 20, 2025 Donald J Trump and his administration began stealing personal information and accessing data illegally through DOGE, and other nefarious means,” an anonymous person wrote on Oct. 31, requesting a class action lawsuit to be filed against Trump.
Most of the submissions in a one-month period were irrelevant.
“It was a dark and stormy night,” a person named Doughlas Balish of Pennsylvania wrote. “The lights were flickering, and as such, I bumped my knee against the wall.Moving [sic] into the kitchen for another cold brew ski. I figured as long as I was at the.Refrigitater, [sic] I would look in the freezer.”
James’ office declined an interview request from Straight Arrow.
Trolling open submission portals isn’t new.
The Wall Street Journal found in a 2017 investigation that thousands of comments federal agencies received for regulatory changes were from people who didn’t exist, were dead or never made the comments themselves. Several of the comments stated the same things, but were signed by people without their knowledge.
Most of the agencies the Journal contacted said they either erred on the side of caution and retained the comments as they’re public, or encouraged people who spot their names to inquire about removing a comment.
In the case of James, the portal is still accepting submissions as of Wednesday.
Racial slurs and taunts directed at James
According to records Straight Arrow obtained through New York’s Freedom of Information Law, the state’s Attorney General’s Office initially received submissions requesting James’ office to investigate former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, file civil lawsuits against Trump and to assist a person whose husband received a federal court notice.
“On December 11, 2025, USCIS sent my husband a letter of removal and or notice to appear for January 14th during the holiday season,” a person wrote on Dec. 22. “Note, this is proceeding to over 10000 USD spent on adjustment of status. My favorite holiday will never be the same especially this year.”
However, the majority of submissions received in the public records request included pages of racial slurs people used against James and former President Barack Obama. The submissions were accompanied with fake email addresses and references to the “1488” number, which has been associated with white supremacist and Nazi groups, according to the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Those were all sent on Oct. 23.
Straight Arrow is not publishing the exact racial slurs used.
James has established herself as one of the main litigators against Trump, the administration and Trump’s private companies. She continued efforts from the state’s previous attorneys general that targeted companies Trump operated in New York. She took office in 2018 after vowing to litigate against Trump.
Her most famous action against Trump was a 2022 civil lawsuit against the Trump Organization, where she accused Trump and his associates of financial fraud. A judge found the organization guilty following a jury trial and ordered Trump to pay more than $350 million in damages. A state appellate court lowered the penalty, but retained the judgment in August.
As a result, Trump revoked James’ security clearance in 2025, and the Justice Department made three attempts to indict James for mortgage fraud. The first attempt was dismissed because Trump illegally appointed Lindsey Halligan as interim U.S. attorney. Two different grand juries in Virginia refused to sign off on the new indictments against James.
The administration is now taking a different approach to prosecute James, using the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate James’ statements on homeowners insurance applications.
“AG violated the laws of the great state of New York and must go to jail for lawfare,” one person wrote on Oct. 24.
“You are interfering with Federal Law Enforcement in direct violation of the US Constitution,” another person wrote on Oct. 24.
All of the submissions that included trolls had fake email addresses, street addresses and phone numbers. Not all personal information was unredacted, as James’ office appeared to redact information in some submissions but not others.
NPS trolled over educational signs
Phony submissions are a nationwide issue. The National Park Service sought public input about its educational signs or historical markers, wanting to know which items disparaged Americans.
The agency received 738 comments regarding sites in New Mexico, Source New Mexico reported Monday. None addressed signage.
The comments instead defended the National Park System, complained about a lack of lava at a dormant volcano in New Mexico and pondered about Bigfoot’s existence, the publication said.
“There are only complaint options here,” a person wrote on Tuesday, according to a database the Sierra Club created. “If you truly want to hear what the American people have to say, give us a category to provide compliments and positive feedback.”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
