The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is using lie detector tests to determine who may be leaking information to the media about ICE raids, according to reports from several U.S. media outlets on Saturday.
Some agency officials argue that the leaked information has hindered immigration law enforcement efforts by providing advance notice of immigrant raids.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem issued an internal directive, first reported by Bloomberg Government last month, mandating that every polygraph exam conducted by the department must include questions about unauthorized communications with nonprofit groups and media outlets.
In a video posted on social media Friday, Noem stated that the department had “identified two leakers here at the Department of Homeland Security who have been informing people about our operations and endangering the lives of law enforcement officers.
We plan to prosecute these two individuals and hold them accountable for what they have done.”
“These individuals face up to 10 years in federal prison,” Noem said. “We will find and eradicate all leakers who will face the full weight of the law and prison time. And we will get justice for the American people.”
The polygraph tests have been conducted for approximately three weeks. It is not known how many employees have undergone them.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), part of DHS, has previously used so-called “lie detector” tests on new agency employees.
Both Noem and President Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, have blamed early disclosures of immigration enforcement raids and low arrest numbers by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on internal leakers.
“Their job is dangerous enough. So, we are going to take this very seriously,” Homan told reporters in early February.
Employees from several agencies under the DHS umbrella were asked to take a polygraph test on Saturday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Image: Opinion
