DHS refused to hand over records in a national security case, watchdog claims

Inspector general accuses DHS of obstruction

The Department of Homeland Security’s own watchdog told Congress that agency leaders have been blocking his office’s work.

Inspector General Joseph Cuffari sent a letter to lawmakers on March 3, 2026, laying out 11 instances where DHS kept his investigators from getting the records and information they needed.

The letter has not been made public, but multiple news outlets reported seeing copies, and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) submitted it during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing the same day.

The accusations come as DHS faces a partial shutdown and bipartisan criticism of Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership.

What an inspector general does

An inspector general is an independent watchdog inside a federal agency.

The job is to find waste, fraud, and abuse, and the office runs separately from agency leadership so it can investigate without political pressure.

Congress funds these offices so they can hold agencies accountable on behalf of taxpayers.

When an inspector general says the agency is blocking access, it raises questions about whether the checks and balances built into the system are working the way they should.

One blocked probe carries national security stakes

Among the stalled investigations was a federal criminal probe that Cuffari described as having national security implications. He called the department’s refusal to cooperate on that particular case especially serious.

The details of the criminal investigation remain classified, and no public reporting has identified its subject.

According to reporting by the Wall Street Journal, when Cuffari asked for database access in April, DHS attached conditions that would have forced investigators to share sensitive details with people who might be involved.

Secret Service review hit a wall too

Cuffari also accused DHS of stalling a Secret Service intelligence review that began after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in 2024.

That claim has not been independently confirmed beyond what the Wall Street Journal and Politico reported.

Together with the criminal probe, it paints a picture of an inspector general’s office that says it cannot do its most sensitive work because the agency it oversees will not cooperate.

Tillis called Noem’s leadership a disaster

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is not running for re-election, submitted the inspector general’s letter at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on March 3.

He called DHS under Noem a disaster and said the fact that the watchdog went public showed how bad things had gotten.

Tillis said he would block all batch nominations until he gets answers from DHS and threatened to deny a quorum and halt committee work in two weeks if the department does not respond.

Tillis had already called for Noem’s resignation in late January after two U.S. citizens were killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

DHS says the watchdog acted in bad faith

DHS pushed back on Cuffari’s accusations. According to reporting by the Wall Street Journal, the department said Cuffari acted in bad faith by going to Congress instead of working things out internally.

A department spokeswoman said the matter was in the inspector general’s hands.

At the hearing, Noem said an earlier report from the watchdog on a related matter contained flawed data and that her department had already put all of its recommendations in place.

Earlier warnings about threats to IG independence

The obstruction claims did not come out of nowhere.

In February 2026, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) warned that DHS general counsel had repeatedly reminded the inspector general’s office about a rarely used law that lets the secretary halt investigations.

The general counsel also asked for a list of every active audit, inspection and criminal investigation, a request Duckworth called deeply unusual.

Former Interior Department Inspector General Mark Greenblatt, a first-term Trump appointee, said that provision had never been used by any agency in his experience. DHS said it was simply following the law.

The watchdog has his own troubled record

Cuffari was confirmed as DHS inspector general during Trump’s first term in 2019.

In 2024, an independent panel of inspectors general found he had engaged in serious misconduct, including misleading the Senate during his confirmation.

The panel recommended his removal, but President Joe Biden did not act on it.

When Trump began his second term in January 2025 and fired a large number of inspectors general, he kept Cuffari in place.

That history complicates the picture, even as multiple sources support the accusations Cuffari is now making.

Both parties pressed Noem at the hearing

Noem testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3 and appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on March 4.

Democrats pressed Noem on the Minneapolis shootings and her labeling of the two killed citizens as domestic terrorists.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana questioned Noem about a $220 million DHS ad campaign that prominently featured her.

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said one death in immigration enforcement is too many, while also defending agents’ right to safety.

DHS shutdown adds more pressure

DHS has been in a partial shutdown since Feb. 14, 2026, making it the only federal agency without full-year funding.

Democrats triggered the standoff by demanding immigration enforcement reforms after the Minneapolis shootings. About 90% of the department’s more than 260,000 employees keep working, but many are not getting paid.

Some operations have been reduced or suspended, including non-disaster FEMA recovery work and Global Entry processing at airports.

Tillis sets a deadline for answers

Tillis gave DHS two weeks to respond before he escalates his procedural disruptions in the Senate. The inspector general’s letter could drive more congressional scrutiny of Noem’s leadership.

The shutdown remains unresolved, with both parties far apart on immigration enforcement reforms.

House Republicans have pushed for a vote on a DHS funding bill, arguing that U.S. military strikes on Iran make it dangerous to leave the department without full funding.

Why this fight matters to everyday Americans

DHS oversees agencies that touch daily life: TSA screens airport passengers, FEMA handles disaster relief, CBP secures borders and ICE enforces immigration law.

When the agency’s watchdog says it cannot do its job, it means there may be less accountability over how these agencies spend taxpayer money and use their power.

The shutdown has already hit travelers, disaster recovery and federal workers’ paychecks. The outcome of this dispute could shape how much independent oversight DHS faces going forward.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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