A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official was terminated after an internal probe concluded that the individual allegedly leaked sensitive information to the press, including personal details about CBP personnel and internal discussions related to border wall negotiations.
The official—whose identity has not been disclosed—was removed from their Washington, D.C., office and escorted out of the building. DHS and CBP have not yet released a public statement confirming the individual’s name or the full scope of the investigation.
Sources cited by the outlet said the leak involved “sensitive, personal information about CBP personnel, as well as negotiations regarding the border wall.” Officials reportedly determined that the disclosure posed potential risks to agent safety amid a surge in nationwide threats against federal law enforcement.
The termination underscores heightened concerns within DHS over data protection and unauthorized disclosures, particularly following several incidents over the past year involving leaks of information tied to immigration enforcement operations. While other cases have included whistleblower complaints and inadvertent data exposures, officials stressed that the CBP removal involved deliberate media contact in violation of agency policy.
Federal employees who handle restricted or sensitive but unclassified materials are bound by multiple statutes and internal guidelines governing data security and communications with external media. Violations can lead to disciplinary measures ranging from suspension to termination, and, in severe cases, criminal referral.
The firing comes amid a tense climate for immigration and border enforcement agencies, which remain under heavy scrutiny following several high-profile incidents and ongoing litigation over Trump administration policy changes.
In a separate development Friday, a federal appeals court in San Francisco granted a stay allowing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to proceed with ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua—a major legal victory for the administration.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, often considered one of the nation’s most liberal benches, issued the order freezing a lower court ruling that had blocked Noem’s policy. In its decision, the court said the government was likely to succeed in showing that the DHS process for terminating TPS was lawful.
“The government is likely to prevail in its argument that the Secretary’s decision-making process in terminating TPS for Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal was not arbitrary and capricious,” the court wrote.
The ruling reverses a December 2025 decision by a San Francisco district court that sided with plaintiffs from the National TPS Alliance, who argued that the DHS decision violated the Administrative Procedure Act. That ruling temporarily preserved legal protections for approximately 60,000 migrants who had been granted TPS following natural disasters in their home countries.
Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the Ninth Circuit’s order, calling it a “crucial legal win” for the Trump administration’s immigration agenda. “This is a crucial legal win from @TheJusticeDept attorneys that helps clear the way for President Trump’s continued deportations,” Bondi said. “As the court found, the government is likely to prevail in its argument that ending Temporary Protected Status for some immigrants is sound and lawful policy.”
Noem’s move to terminate TPS had been based on statutory requirements that the Department review whether the original reasons for temporary protection still exist. Nepal received its designation after a 2015 earthquake, while Honduras and Nicaragua were designated following Hurricane Mitch in 1999. DHS concluded last year that conditions in all three countries had stabilized to a level that no longer justified emergency protection.
Noem’s spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, has maintained that the program “was always meant to be temporary.”
The Ninth Circuit panel—composed of Judges Michael Hawkins (appointed by Bill Clinton), Consuelo Callahan (appointed by George W. Bush), and Eric Miller (appointed by Donald Trump)—issued a split opinion. Hawkins concurred with the result, citing recent Supreme Court precedent but urging restraint in resolving plaintiffs’ claims prematurely.
The ruling effectively clears the way for DHS to move forward with deportations that had been delayed for years under litigation and multiple administrative extensions. It also strengthens the legal footing for the administration’s broader enforcement initiatives, including a recently announced Operation Metro Surge drawdown in Minneapolis and ongoing border security reforms under Noem’s leadership.