The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is using polygraph tests to figure out who could be leaking information to news outlets, with some agency officials contending the disclosed information has hampered immigration enforcement efforts, multiple outlets reported.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ordered in an internal directive, first reported by Bloomberg Government last month, that every polygraph exam done by the department has to feature questions about unapproved communication with nonprofit groups and media outlets.
“The Department of Homeland Security is a national security agency,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed statement to The Hill’s partner, NewsNation. “We can, should, and will polygraph personnel.”
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), part of the DHS, has previously utilized the so-called “lie detector” tests on new hires at the agency.
Both Noem and President Trump’s Border czar, Tom Homan, have pinned the blame for immigration enforcement raids being revealed ahead of time and the substandard U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) numbers of arrests on internal leakers.
“Their job is dangerous enough. So we are going to address this very seriously,” Homan told reporters in early February.
Noem said in a video posted Friday on X that the DHS has identified two “criminal leakers” within the department and that they will be referred to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for “felony prosecutions.”
“These individuals face up to 10 years in federal prison,” Noem said. “We will find and root out all leakers. They will face prison time & we will get justice for the American people.”
It is unclear how many DHS workers have been polygraphed so far. It is also not clear if the two employees Noem referenced in the Friday video were spotted with the help of the lie detector test.
Workers within various agencies under the DHS umbrella have been asked to take a polygraph test, NBC News reported on Saturday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The Hill has reached out to DHS and CBP for comment.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group which also owns The Hill.
