At least three former DHS officials described being escorted into small, windowless rooms and connected to polygraph equipment, including pulse monitors, sensors, blood-pressure cuffs, and chest bands.
They were instructed to face a blank wall while the examiner sat behind them, with a video camera recording from the corner.
Some examinations lasted as long as six hours, and several employees were required to return for additional sessions.
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.
Forced Reassignments and Culture Wars
For many, the examination was only the beginning.
Officials were ordered to report to offices in different parts of the country, often in roles for which they had no experience and at agencies with missions far removed from their own.
Employees were given only days to decide whether to accept the reassignment. Some resigned, others accepted buyouts, and a few remained.
Several current officials said they stayed not because they agreed with the department's direction, but due to personal reasons such as being primary providers for their families.
One senior DHS official described the decision as a daily moral compromise.
>>> Ben Okri on Storytelling, Love, and Life's Hardest Lessons
Ron Rosenberg, a former senior executive service leader at USCIS with more than 26 years of federal service, said political appointees repeatedly tried to push him out during Trump's first term through reassignment.
