Internal documents obtained by CBS News’ Catherine Herridge have revealed allegations of retaliation by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) against whistleblowers who exposed a stunning agency failure. The controversy centers around the agency’s purported refusal to implement a crucial public safety law involving DNA collection from detainees accused of immigration violations—a lapse that whistleblowers claim has compromised American safety.

The leaked government memo detailed accusations that CBP retaliated against employees who exposed “the agency’s intentional, decade-long failure to enforce the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005.” The law mandates the collection of DNA samples from non-U.S. persons detained on immigration charges to bolster public safety and aid criminal investigations.

The whistleblowers, Mark Jones, Fred Wynn, and Michael Taylor, bring a collective 69 years of law enforcement expertise to the table. Each of them has been granted top-secret clearances, including Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), which protects highly sensitive sources and methods. Their respective tenures are 20, 18, and 31 years.