US Customs and Border Protection responded for years to three whistleblowers who called out its failure to collect DNA from millions of detainees, allowing some violent criminals to evade justice for decades, a federal investigation has found.
Fred Wynn, Mike Taylor and Mark Jones face professional and financial consequences for highlighting their agency’s refusal to comply with federal law enforcement rules for DNA collection on criminal detainees since 2009, according to the US Office of Special Counsel (OSC).
“The agency’s lack of compliance with the law has allowed subjects later accused of violent crimes, including murder and sexual assault, to evade detection despite multiple arrests by CBP or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” Special Counsel Henry Kerner told the President. at that moment. Donald Trump and Congress in a letter on August 21, 2019.
“This is an unacceptable dereliction of the agency’s law enforcement mandate,” added Kerner, who said the trio claimed CBP had detained but not taken DNA from more than 5 million people over the previous decade.
US Customs and Border Protection responded for years to three whistleblowers who called attention to the agency’s failure to collect DNA on detainees, a US Special Counsel investigation found. The Washington Post via Getty Images
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has overseen ongoing retaliation against whistleblowers, according to a congressional letter sent to him last week.Getty Images
“I believe that if you could get a total for that period of time … how many Americans ended up being killed as a result, I think it would probably exceed the number of Americans who died on 9/11,” a source familiar with the matter told The Post. “So that’s the harm. But we will never know the number.”
Trump’s Justice Department moved months later to expand the DNA collection rules, which had been interpreted narrowly by officials under former President Barack Obama.
Whistleblowers drew attention to the issue in February 2018 and their section was closed shortly after, prompting them to go to the OSC.
Whistleblowers claim their agency has detained but not taken DNA from more than 5 million people in the past decade. James Breeden/Shutterstock for the NY Post
The independent investigative agency found that “CBP’s action was motivated by the agency’s displeasure with the Complainant’s actual involvement and perception in exposing the agency’s decade-long willful failure to implement laws designed to protect public safety,” Dec. 2. 2021, a letter summarizing his findings shows.
An OSC attorney assigned to the case also told the CBP’s Office of Assistant General Counsel that it was “approaching the agency for corrective action” on the three whistleblowers, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Post.
CBP has the burden of proof that it would have taken action against the same workers had they not made the disclosure, the lawyer said at the time.
“CBP takes the protection of whistleblowers very seriously and has policies and procedures in place to ensure appropriate protection for such individuals,” a spokesperson told The Post.AP
Taylor and Jones, who have served decades in federal law enforcement, also notified the DHS Office of Inspector General and the DHS Office of General Counsel on Dec. 20, 2022, that their employers had stripped them of their badges, firearms and credentials.
Taylor has taken away his retirement protection and future pension payments as well.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in a letter called on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last week to end the retaliation and “immediately initiate corrective action.” He asked for an answer this Friday, Sept. 1.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in a letter asked Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last week to end the retaliation and “immediately initiate corrective action.” Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
A CBP spokesperson told The Post at the time that “CBP takes the protection of whistleblowers very seriously and has policies and procedures in place to ensure appropriate protection for such individuals.”
“The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) concluded its investigation into this claim without issuing a Prohibited Personnel Practice Report or seeking corrective action,” he added. “Since this case is in active litigation, CBP is not at liberty to provide any specific information or response regarding the characterization of facts related to this appeal.”
The spokeswoman did not respond to a follow-up request about the OSC letter calling for “corrective action.” Federal law does not require a Report of Prohibited Personnel Practices before an agency responds to retaliation, sources familiar with the investigation said.
Trump’s Justice Department moved months later to begin collecting DNA, which had been narrowly interpreted by officials under former President Barack Obama. James Breeden/Shutterstock for the NY Post
“Since 2006, I have not heard of law enforcement officers being stripped of their weapons and badges for no reason,” the source added, saying the agency made an “example” of the trio by placing each on “constructive retirement.”
“Rest assured that Sen. Grassley will be watching closely for feedback as he urges DHS to take action for ignoring federal whistleblower protection laws and correct its vindictive behavior,” the senator’s spokesperson told The Post. “Efforts to obstruct Congress will not be tolerated.”
An OSC spokesman declined to comment, citing “ongoing litigation” over the matter at the US Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), where the whistleblowers are appealing their cases.
“There may be situations where the collection of DNA samples is not operationally feasible due to the sudden mass influx of aliens without immigration status,” Attorney General Eric Holder said at the time. James Breeden/Shutterstock for the NY Post
“Although the OSC is not involved in the MSPB case, we cannot comment to avoid prejudice to any party while the litigation is pending,” the spokesperson told The Post.
All three whistleblowers were members of CBP’s now-defunct Weapons of Mass Destruction Division between 2016 and 2018, which was selected for a pilot program to implement the DNA Fingerprinting Act.
The law was not interpreted as a federal regulation until late 2008 and went into effect the following year. But Obama administration officials later withheld the authority to collect DNA from the agency.
All three whistleblowers subsequently suffered professional consequences and reputational harm, Special Counsel Henry Kerner found.Getty Images
“I have decided to reserve to the Department of Justice the authority to grant exemptions to the collection of DNA samples from criminal detainees,” then-Attorney General Eric Holder said in a July 22, 2010 letter, following a request from the then-Department of the Interior. Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
“There may be situations where the collection of DNA samples is not operationally feasible due to the sudden mass influx of aliens without immigration status,” Holder added. “In such cases, it is likely that most foreigners will be detained as immigration detainees and will not be criminally charged. Given your intent not to collect DNA samples from immigration detainees who are not criminally charged, this concern does not appear to be an issue.”
Another memo from Holder on November 18, 2010, stated that DHS would also be given more time “to carry out the collection of DNA samples withheld by its agencies” due to lack of resources.
The whistleblower highlighted the wrongdoing to officials at DHS headquarters, including Miles Taylor (pictured above), who has authored articles and books opposing the Trump administration’s policies. The Washington Post via Getty Images
On February 15, 2018, a DHS employee working with a whistleblower highlighted misconduct in DNA collection to officials at agency headquarters.
One of those officials is Miles Taylor, who authored articles and books opposing Trump administration policies under the pseudonym “Anonymous” while serving as chief of staff to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
The email, prompted by a whistleblower, eventually led to the shutdown of the WMD division, and a conference call was held several months later to discuss how to gain public support for reducing or ending the program.
“We’re going to pull over this poor 70-year-old woman and collect DNA from her to generate opposition and so on,” a source familiar with the April 18, 2018, discussion described to The Post.
The three whistleblowers later suffered professional consequences and reputational harm for revealing the wrongdoing, including loss of performance awards, and were removed from high-profile projects involving enforcement against MS-13 gang members, the Special Counsel said.
Jones, who served as the program’s acting director, has also been named to the directorship of a new office that does similar law enforcement work called the Operational Field Testing Division.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
