“In the defector operations center, we had the crown jewels of CIA spies,” Mr. Augustyn told The Washington Times. “And we’re responsible for them for life.”
Unlike the witness protection program run by the U.S. Marshals Service, the CIA does not kick out those who fail to follow the rules.
The CIA can bring in up to 100 defectors and their families a year under a 1949 law, although it is unlikely that the agency ever reached its limit. The program is populated with Russians, Chinese, North Koreans, Iraqis and others. Most are men, but some female spies have been rescued and resettled.