DHS Fires CBP Official Over Press Leaks as Administration Vows to Purge Unauthorized Disclosures
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has terminated a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official accused of leaking sensitive personnel information to the media, signaling an aggressive escalation in the administration’s efforts to plug information breaches. The dismissal was confirmed by Corey Lewandowski, who issued a stark warning regarding the crackdown, stating unequivocally that “all leakers will be found and fired.”
This termination occurs against a backdrop of intensifying friction between political leadership and career federal employees. The DHS has recently faced a series of unauthorized disclosures regarding internal staffing movements and policy deliberations, prompting leadership to implement stricter information control protocols. By targeting the leak of personnel files—which are generally afforded strong privacy protections under federal law—the administration is establishing a precedent for immediate termination. Lewandowski’s comments suggest that this firing is not an isolated incident but the beginning of a systematic internal investigation aimed at rooting out staff members who communicate with the press without authorization.
However, the administration’s “zero tolerance” approach has triggered significant pushback from transparency advocates and civil service unions. Critics argue that conflating all unauthorized disclosures with malicious leaking threatens the statutory rights of whistleblowers. Legal experts warn that an aggressive hunt for leakers creates a “chilling effect,” potentially silencing employees who might otherwise report waste, fraud, abuse, or threats to public safety. While the administration maintains that the sanctity of personnel data is paramount, opposition groups contend that these measures may be utilized to obscure government operations from public scrutiny and suppress dissent within the ranks of the DHS.
