A senior official who oversaw vetting of Immigration and Customs Enforcement recruits warned in a formal complaint last year that the agency was issuing job offers before completing basic security checks on applicants, according to a document obtained by ABC News.
The complaint was submitted to the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General in August 2025. The official, whose name was redacted, previously served as unit chief for ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility. ABC News obtained the complaint from the whistleblower's attorney.
The document describes a broad breakdown in standard procedures. "The systematic failures, detailed in this memorandum, constitute a direct violation of federal law, DHS directives, and national security policies," the complaint states. "The deliberate circumvention of personnel vetting and clearance procedures has placed DHS at grave risk of insider threats, infiltration, and reputational harm."
According to the complaint, the agency was issuing final job offers before any preliminary vetting by the personnel security division. Applicants were also receiving favorable suitability determinations without fingerprinting, identity verification, or credit checks. "The result is a historic lowering of vetting standards where proper risk mitigation is sacrificed to onboard personnel quickly," the official wrote. "This creates a systematic vulnerability to infiltration, insider threats, and exploitation by adversaries."
The complaint also alleged that political appointees within DHS received national security eligibility without required background investigations. It cited Corey Lewandowski, a former senior adviser to DHS, as an example, alleging he was "the subject of derogatory findings that should've rendered him both unsuitable for federal service and ineligible for national security eligibility." The complaint stated those findings were disregarded, resulting in what it called an improper clearance determination. A spokesperson for Lewandowski did not respond to ABC News's request for comment. Lewandowski served as a de facto chief of staff for former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem until she was fired by Trump in March 2026.
After filing the complaint, the whistleblower faced immediate consequences, according to his attorney, Kevin Owen. "He was interrogated, unjustifiably threatened with criminal charges, and placed on leave for over ten months," Owen said. Owen added that his client was never given any explanation for the action taken against him.
The official identified the primary risks from improper vetting as national security threats, insider compromise, and erosion of public trust in the agency.
