Six-hour polygraphs, forced reassignments: inside Homeland Security's campaign of fear
Source: The Guardian
Federal officials tasked with implementing the Trump administration’s “mass deportation” program faced an extraordinary campaign of intimidation inside the Department of Homeland Security during the final months of Kristi Noem’s tenure and the arrival of her successor, a Guardian investigation found.
Over the past four months, the Guardian spoke with more than three dozen current and former Department of Homeland Security officials who described a climate of fear driven by Trump loyalists in senior positions, who sidelined or removed career officials who raised concerns about possibly illegal acts, and threatened termination or arrest in order to stop dissent. Several have also claimed they were subjected to polygraph examinations conducted by US military personnel.
In the past year-and-a-half, entire offices were dismantled, and oversight bodies were stripped of staff and authority. The divisions responsible for refugee policy, asylum, humanitarian protections and family unity were among the hardest hit. The practices have continued during the leadership transition to Markwayne Mullin, the current and former officials said.
“I wanted to work with refugees,” said Harun Ahmed, a former deputy chief in the refugee affairs law division at US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in a phone interview from Texas. “I wanted to help. I believe in public service.”
Ahmed, who served in the government for nearly 17 years, was responsible for helping ensure legal protections for refugees and asylum seekers navigating the US immigration system. But after Trump’s return to office in 2025, Ahmed said, career officials increasingly found themselves under pressure to support policies they believed violated both the spirit and purpose of the system they had spent years administering.
“They wanted employees to sign off on efforts even when we believed they were immoral, illegal or ahistorical,” Ahmed said. “It didn’t matter what our expertise was. They wanted our blessing.”
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jul/11/inside-homeland-security-campaign-of-fear
They are criminals attacking good federal employees.
Fear is their MAGA driver.