Lok Darjee reports for the Guardian in an article dated Saturday, 11 July 2026 and titled, “Six-hour polygraphs, forced reassignments: inside homeland security’s campaign of fear.” Excerpt:
Multiple current and former DHS officials told the Guardian that they had witnessed or personally been subjected to polygraph examinations – not as part of routine security reviews, but as a tool of intimidation. The Guardian spoke with several former and current officials who independently underwent the examinations, and their accounts corroborated one another in significant detail.
The use of polygraphs across federal agencies has been widely reported, and DHS has said it is “unapologetic” about its efforts to root out leakers. But the identities of the people conducting the examinations was previously unknown. The officials told the Guardian that the few individuals who administered their polygraphs identified themselves as air force personnel being used to interrogate civilian employees of a separate federal agency.
The Guardian submitted detailed questions to the Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of Defense and Air Force Public Affairs regarding the polygraphing of civilian employees by military personnel, the elimination of oversight bodies, the treatment of career staff and the separation of families. The Air Force communications department declined to address the substance of the questions, instead referring the Guardian to the DHS, stating that any polygraphs of DHS personnel “would have taken place under [DHS’s] direction and authority”. The DHS did not respond to multiple requests for comments.
The polygraph tests were ostensibly prompted by unspecified concerns about the employees’ security clearances. None of the former officials said they were shown the underlying allegations or given an opportunity to respond before being ordered to appear. All said they believed the justification was fabricated and used to create a climate of fear.
Several former officials who underwent the polygraph also recalled being read their Miranda rights before questioning began.
“I was Mirandized,” one former official recalled. “Miranda warnings are only for criminal investigations and prosecutions. There is no civil or employment context for being read your rights. It strongly implied that I was going to be arrested and leave in handcuffs.”
The practice of Mirandizing federal employees during polygraph screening “tests” seems odd, as these are not custodial interrogations that would require Miranda warnings.
The employees received a written notice that described the examination as voluntary. But multiple former employees said supervisors told them that senior leadership had made the consequences clear: refusal could result in the loss of a security clearance and, with it, their job.
“Voluntary” polygraph examinations are not voluntary.
At least three former DHS officials described being escorted into small, windowless rooms and connected to polygraph equipment, including a pulse monitor, sensors on the floor under their feet and in the seat of their chair, a blood-pressure cuff and chest bands that measured breathing patterns. They were instructed to face a blank wall while the examiner sat behind them. A video camera recorded from the corner. One room contained two-way mirrored glass.
Officials said they were warned not to alter their breathing and told that failure to comply could invalidate the results. One official recalled the blood-pressure cuff remaining inflated for long stretches, causing her hand to turn bright red. Another said they felt as though they were suffocating because they were forbidden from taking “deep breaths”.
Some examinations lasted as long as six hours. Several employees were required to return for additional sessions.
“They encourage you to spill everything, saying that you’ll ‘get through’ the questions if you don’t have anything on your mind,” one former employee said. “Trivial things from your personal life, from years ago. Then they make you feel like a very immoral person.”
Polygraph “testing” has no scientific basis, and outcomes have little to do with whether a person has spoken the truth. Its sole utility is as a tool of intimidation to encourage admissions. The late polygraph critic and former police polygrapher Doug Williams described it as a “psychological rubber hose.”
DHS personnel subjected to such mandatory polygraph screenings may benefit from AntiPolygraph.org’s free book, The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, which demystifies the polygraph process and explains how to mitigate the risk of a false positive outcome.
The use of military polygraph operators to interrogate civilian personnel from non-DoD agencies is unconventional. AntiPolygraph.org invites comment from any readers who can help shed light on this practice. See our contact page for details on how to reach us securely (and anonymously, if you prefer).