Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (8th District of Illinois)
SCHAUMBURG, IL — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) sent a follow-up letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem today raising serious concerns about systemic failures in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s hiring, vetting, and oversight processes, as well as troubling DHS recruitment messaging and leadership decisions.
In the letter, Krishnamoorthi wrote that he is “once again raising serious concerns regarding the lapses in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) hiring and vetting processes,” including the decision to elevate officers such as Greg Bovino. He noted that DHS has failed to respond to his November 24, 2025 request for documentation regarding ICE’s vetting practices, including whether recruits are permitted to begin training before completing background checks and how ICE verifies applicant information and detects undisclosed misconduct.
Krishnamoorthi also raised alarm about DHS recruitment content posted shortly after the fatal shooting of Renée Good in Minneapolis. He wrote that the decision to use language closely associated with white nationalist and extremist movements “raises serious questions about whether your department is tolerating, or even courting, the attention of individuals and movements rooted in extremist ideology,” adding that “in the context of official recruitment communications, the use of language so closely associated with these movements cannot reasonably be dismissed as accidental.”
Addressing reporting that Greg Bovino had made antisemitic remarks prior to his elevation into a DHS leadership role, Krishnamoorthi wrote that “the decision to promote an individual associated with antisemitic rhetoric reflects a serious failure of judgment” and that, at a moment when antisemitism is surging nationwide, “this episode undermines DHS’s credibility as an institution entrusted with protecting all communities.”
The letter further cites recent reporting describing how individuals can move through ICE’s recruitment process with minimal scrutiny, warning that these accounts, when viewed alongside DHS messaging choices and prior personnel decisions, “point to systemic vetting and oversight failures, not isolated lapses.” Krishnamoorthi emphasized that, as Secretary, Noem is responsible for ensuring DHS leadership reflects “the values of professionalism, integrity, and respect for the rule of law.”
Krishnamoorthi requested that DHS provide responses no later than February 20, 2026, to the following questions:
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What vetting, review, and approval processes were used in the decision to elevate Greg Bovino, and when did DHS leadership become aware of his antisemitic statements?
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Has DHS conducted, or does it intend to conduct, a review of Mr. Bovino’s record in light of this reporting?
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What steps is DHS taking to ensure that individuals with histories of misconduct, credibility issues, or extremist rhetoric are not promoted into positions of authority?
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Is DHS screening to make sure that it is not hiring agents who participated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021?
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When will DHS provide a response to the outstanding questions raised in my November 24, 2025 letter regarding ICE’s hiring, vetting, and oversight procedures?
Congressman Krishnamoorthi’s letter is available here.