In a bombshell revelation, whistleblowers within Homeland Security have accused the agency of actively retaliating against them for exposing a systemic failure to comply with a federal DNA collection law.
The whistleblowers have risked their careers to reveal that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a division of DHS, has systematically failed to collect the DNA of illegal immigrants as mandated by the DNA Fingerprint Act. This law, passed in 2005 with bipartisan support, mandates the collection of DNA samples from non-U.S. persons detained for immigration violations.
This failure has allowed violent criminals to evade detection and commit further crimes on American soil.
In an exclusive interview with Catherine Herridge, the whistleblowers detailed a chilling campaign of retaliation, including demotions, the stripping of law enforcement credentials, and the creation of a hostile work environment. According to the whistleblowers, the agency’s intent was clear: to silence them at any cost.
The whistleblowers, who collectively have over seven decades of law enforcement experience and held TOP SECRET clearances—Mark Jones (20 years), Fred Wynn (18 years), and Michael Taylor (31 years)—assert that the agency’s non-compliance has directly endangered American lives.
In their letter to the DHS Inspector General, they stated that out of nearly 1.7 million encounters with illegal immigrants in FY 2022, only about 37% resulted in DNA collection. Alarmingly, this figure dropped to just over 31% in Q2 FY23.
The whistleblowers argue that if CBP had adhered to the law, potential suspects could have been identified much sooner. They specifically point to Rachel Morin’s murder as a case where compliance might have saved lives.
The murderer, Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez—a known gang member—had multiple encounters with border agents prior to committing this violent crime. Yet, his DNA was never collected.
Fred Wynn said unequivocally, “The continued, prolonged, willful failure to comply with the DNA Fingerprint Act has resulted in the harm that Americans are dead, and these deaths were preventable.”
According to Herridge, “During border encounter DNA collection : 30 seconds. FBI provided kits: $4.00. Processing: 48 hours (but there is a backlog). The refusal to comply with DNA law is apparently not about time or cost. This is where politics or personal bias may come in.”
In their interview with Catherine Herridge, the whistleblowers painted a bleak picture of life within DHS. They described a culture where speaking out against non-compliance leads to severe retaliation—including demotions, hostile work environments, and even threats against their lives.
A leaked internal memo confirms that Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a division of DHS, targeted these whistleblowers after they revealed the agency’s decade-long failure.
“With the whistleblowers’ permission, we are releasing the internal government memo that found the border agency (CBP) “retaliated” against them after revealing “the agency’s intentional, decade-long failure to implement a law designed to protect public safety,” Herridge wrote.
EXCLUSIVE: With the whistleblowers’ permission, we are releasing the internal government memo that found the border agency (CBP) “retaliated” against them after revealing “the agency’s intentional, decade-long failure to implement a law designed to protect public safety.”
CBP… pic.twitter.com/IEgAlGJi68
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) August 11, 2024
Below is an excerpt from the interview:
Catherine Herridge: This exclusive internal memo concluded that the border agency retaliated against them, including denial of promotion, hostile work environment, reputational harm, among other issues.
[…]
Fred Wynn: That’s correct. For me personally, it’s a mystery as to why the Office of Special Counsel did not see fit to share that document with us.
Michael Taylor: I’ve had my law enforcement credentials and firearms taken away from me. I’ve had my law enforcement retirement taken away from me. We will tell you this: in a law enforcement environment, publicly removing someone’s firearms is the ultimate insult and degradation.
Fred Wynn: I was basically iced—left to sit at my desk every day, doing nothing but the most menial tasks. My future career options were limited because I was working in such a restricted sphere. All that future potential vanished in a day.
Mark Jones: I was demoted three levels. Like Mr. Taylor, my firearms were taken, my credentials were taken, and it was the final blow to a professional career. What we did was come forward. In 75 years or so of combined service, not one of us has even had a written or verbal disciplinary action.
Michael Taylor: One of the supervisors said, as a matter of fact, the agency’s goal is to bankrupt you, make you quit, die, kill yourselves, or preferably all of the above.
Catherine Herridge: What you describe sounds like a criminal conspiracy.
Michael Taylor: We think a lot of this is criminal, not so much even when it comes to us, but the absolute intentional dereliction of implementing the DNA law.
Mark Jones: We don’t need to bring in more crime. We have enough of our own. The tool we have, the DNA Fingerprint Act, we are willfully not complying with. And we ask ourselves, “How is this happening?” I think we know how it’s happening.
Watch the interview below:
BREAKING: Leaked government memo confirms whistleblowers were targeted by Border Agency after exposing federal DNA Collection law was not followed for immigration violations
Homeland Security whistleblowers claim American deaths “were preventable.”
Subscribe on X @C__Herridge pic.twitter.com/x9e6RjGJKH
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) August 11, 2024
