CBP Whistleblowers: ‘The Agency’s Goal Is to Bankrupt You, Make You Quit, Die, Kill Yourselves’

Journalist Catherine Herridge is no stranger to intimidation or the consequences that can come with trying to tell the truth. Sadly, many of us are likely to become familiar with those things in the years to come. Herridge's latest report is eye-opening. At the same time, the information she uncovered while talking with Mark Jones, Mike Taylor, and Fred Wynn, three former members of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, is going to come as no surprise to anyone who has paid even cursory attention to the news over the last four years.

When illegal aliens are apprehended and detained, regulations require the CBP to take a DNA swab from the cheek of the detainee and send it to the FBI for processing. All told the entire process can be completed in 72 hours from start to finish. The process can be extremely valuable in identifying criminals who crossed over the border, keeping them from committing crimes in the U.S., or apprehending them when they have broken the law. 

The whistleblowers told Herridge that not only is the DNA collection process often ignored, but people who speak out about it also face severe penalties. The trio told Herridge that they had been sanctioned with reductions in grade, desk duty, and the confiscation of their service weapons. They have lost their law enforcement credentials and their retirements. 

One of them said, “...the agency's goal is to bankrupt you, make you quit, die, kill yourselves, or basically, preferably, all the above.” Herridge even obtained a memo confirming that whistleblowers in the matter were subject to retaliation. They add that none of them have ever faced any disciplinary action throughout their careers.

Herridge's full report, along with the supporting documentation, is below.

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

Wynn commented to Herridge that failure to collect DNA likely contributed to the sexual assault and murder of 37-year-old Maryland mother, Rachel Morin. The suspect in that case had been tied to a home invasion. For that matter, one must ask if members of the agency ignoring this law played a role in the failure to prevent other murders or lesser crimes that illegal aliens have committed.

Note that this problem has existed for at least a decade, so it predates the Biden and Trump administrations. However, House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) told the Daily Mail:

Instead of empowering Border Patrol agents and other CBP officials, Biden, Harris, and DHS Secretary Mayorkas have made it harder for DHS law enforcement to do its job, and retaliated against those who object. Investigative efforts by my Committee have also confirmed that CBP, under the Biden-Harris administration, simply is not concerned with collecting this vital DNA data, and Americans and vulnerable migrants are the ones who end up suffering the consequences.

While this problem would likely continue under a Harris-Walz administration, it will linger even if Donald Trump wins in November. The issue is not just that the agency didn't follow the DNA collection law. The other problem is that members of a federal agency deemed their jobs so dear and the safety of their fellow citizens so cheap that they did not want accountability.