Sometime during the week of February 10, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem sends agency employees a memo warning them of upcoming lie detector tests.
Noem claims that this directive is in response to leaks that have foiled immigration enforcement plans. Herself and Trump border czar Tom Homan have specifically cited immigration enforcement disruptions in California and Colorado.
Noem’s directive is part of a broader crackdown by DHS on employees’ external communications amid workforce and policy upheavals since President Donald Trump took office last month. The Federal Emergency Management Agency over the weekend announced a new prohibition on media contact without prior authorization from senior officials.
Bloomberg Government
Additionally, the internal order instructed all DHS polygraphs to include a question regarding “unauthorized communications with media and nonprofit organizations…”
On March 7, Noem announced on social media that two leakers were caught and will be prosecuted.
Highlighting the priority that immigration enjoys in the Trump administration, the DHS is following the lead of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency within the DHS itself. It happens to be the largest user of polygraphs in the DHS.
Republican lawmakers have expressed concern that polygraphs can hinder immigration enforcement efforts due to a high test failure rate.
