Hawley Letter To DHS OIG On ICE HSI

November 8, 2023
The Honorable Joseph V. Cuffari

Office of Inspector General
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
245 Murray Lane SW
Washington, DC 20528
Dear Inspector General Cuffari,
I write to request an immediate investigation into whistleblower allegations that the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) has shut down or delayed investigations into child exploitation and
other crimes in order to transfer hundreds of special agents to process illegal immigrants at the
southern border. No fewer than four separate DHS whistleblowers have contacted my office
alleging a severe mismanagement of staffing and resources at the direction of senior officials
within DHS, allegations which may demonstrate a violation of law. These allegations merit an
immediate investigation.
On October 31, 2023, I questioned Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas before
the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) regarding whistleblower
allegations that he removed 600 Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents from
felony investigations to facilitate immigration processing functions at the southern border.
According to the whistleblower, agents “are being told to shut down investigations to hand out
sandwiches and escort migrants to the shower.” This led to child exploitation suspects and fentanyl
dealers evading indictment, including child molesters. When asked whether special agents had
been pulled away from cases and reassigned to the border, Secretary Mayorkas testified,
“Combatting the fight against fentanyl, yes.”
Following the hearing, three more whistleblowers from across the country contacted my office,
corroborating these claims. One alleged that Secretary Mayorkas was “absolutely lying” and that
agents were not, in fact, being reassigned to investigate fentanyl cases. The whistleblower
corroborated the claim that there have been at least 600 agents at a given time reassigned to the
border. A third whistleblower claims that he was also reassigned to the border to “babysit” illegal
immigrants; his duties included holding doors for private contractors who prepared the sandwiches
for illegal immigrants, who were “fed better than my kids.” A fourth whistleblower confirmed that
special agents had been pulled off child exploitation investigations. According to some of the
whistleblowers, much of their time was spent on “stand-by,” as offices at the border were not
expecting their arrival.
Most concerningly, all the whistleblowers allege that important criminal investigations stalled and
suspects were not arrested or indicted as a result of these reassignments. Agents were pulled from
investigations ranging from child exploitation to drug trafficking to counterterrorism. One
whistleblower was pulled from child exploitation cases “that haunt your soul when you aren’t
available and able to ensure the children involved aren’t being abused.” Another whistleblower
alleges that hands-on child molesters were not arrested and further provides specific examples of
child exploitation indictments that were delayed or adversely affected due to these reassignments.
These whistleblowers have also provided documentation supporting their claims. For example,
documents provided to my office show that HSI supervisors acknowledged the problem of HSI
special agents sitting around without being assigned tasks. Additionally, the whistleblowers
provided my office with a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detail HSI special
agents to the southern border. The MOA confirms the whistleblowers’ allegations that their duties
would include “[p]hysically observing [migrants] in holding areas,” sitting with migrants at the
hospital, and escorting migrants from place to place. Notably, the MOA was signed by the Acting
Commissioner of CBP and a senior ICE official in April 2023, though the reassignments allegedly
have been occurring for over a year. My office will transmit relevant documents to inform your
investigation in a manner that protects the anonymity of whistleblowers.
The Department’s decision to relegate its highly-trained criminal investigators to processing and
feeding illegal immigrants, rather than investigating child exploitation cases, is bad policy. But it
also may be illegal and in violation of existing regulations. For example, whistleblowers allege
that these practices violate 13 U.S.C. § 1301(a) of the Anti-Deficiency Act, Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76, and internal ICE travel policies. Under the Inspector General
Act of 1978, as amended, you have the authority to conduct investigations into the programs and
operations of DHS. I therefore write to request an immediate investigation into these practices.
The American public deserves transparency and accountability, especially when it concerns the
safety and security of our nation and the integrity of our law enforcement agencies. Please include
in your investigation answers to the following questions:
1. Since January 2021, how many HSI special agents have been reassigned to the southern
border to perform migrant processing functions?
a. How many of these special agents were required to pause or abandon investigations
into criminal activity due to their reassignments?
b. How many of the investigations delayed or abandoned because of reassignments

involved child exploitation, fentanyl trafficking, or counterterrorism?
c. How is DHS measuring the effectiveness of these reassignments in reducing the

number of migrants at the southern border?
2. How many complaints identifying potential waste, fraud, and abuse have DHS officials
received as a result of HSI reassignments?
a. Have any whistleblowers been subject to retaliatory action as a result of their

complaints?
3. Are HSI special agents able to defer their reassignments in order to continue critical
investigations?
4. Did the Department violate any provisions of law or internal policies by reassigning special
agents to the border, including but not limited to violations of the Anti-Deficiency Act,
OMB Circular A-76, or ICE travel policies?
5. Secretary Mayorkas testified to Congress that special agents had been reassigned to the
border to combat the fight against fentanyl. Was this statement true?
Sincerely,
Josh Hawley
United States Senator

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November 8, 2023

The Honorable Joseph V. Cuffari

Dear Inspector General Cuffari,

b. How many of the investigations delayed or abandoned because of reassignments

c. How is DHS measuring the effectiveness of these reassignments in reducing the

a. Have any whistleblowers been subject to retaliatory action as a result of their

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