The following information is from a press release issued by Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has successfully secured promotions and full compensation for three Customs and Border Protection (CBP) whistleblowers who faced nearly a decade of retaliation.

Whistleblowers Fred Wynn, Mike Taylor, and Mark Jones have now been elevated to supervisory roles at CBP. They will receive back pay and retirement benefits to cover more than seven years of financial losses. The agency is also restoring Jones and Taylor’s law enforcement credentials, badges, and firearms, which had been revoked in 2023 after they exposed CBP’s failure to comply with the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005.

These actions fulfill Grassley’s direct requests and fully reverse CBP’s prior disciplinary measures.

“Today is a victory for Fred Wynn, Mike Taylor, Mark Jones and the rule of law. At long last, these patriotic men will be made whole again,” Grassley said. “I’m very grateful to the leadership at the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, who worked with me to bring these whistleblowers back to their rightful roles.”

“Once again, the Trump administration has shown its respect for people that blow the whistle on wrongdoing. I hope that continues, because when you’re at the top of the bureaucracy, you don’t always know what goes on below. That’s precisely why we need brave whistleblowers like these three.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem added:

“These men had the courage and patriotism to speak up against the Biden administration’s deliberate efforts to destroy our national security. They paid an unjust price for doing so — betrayed by an administration that protected lawbreakers and punished law enforcement.”

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are restoring what is right and true and getting these patriots back to doing the work they love.”

Background

The DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005 requires federal law enforcement to collect DNA from every individual arrested, charged, convicted, or detained. Wynn, Taylor, and Jones were sidelined after raising alarms about CBP’s consistent failure to follow that law. In 2023, data revealed CBP was collecting DNA from fewer than 40% of illegal immigrants entering under the Biden administration.

Grassley has worked on their behalf since 2018 and highlighted their case at a Senate roundtable last year, where all three whistleblowers spoke about the national security risks posed by CBP’s failure to collect DNA.

Most recently, during a Senate hearing to consider President Trump’s nominee for CBP Commissioner, Grassley again pressed for full restitution for the whistleblowers. Days later, CBP agreed to promote Wynn, Taylor, and Jones and restore their benefits.

This marks the second whistleblower case Grassley has helped resolve this year. In March, the IRS promoted whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler following similar efforts by Grassley.

Read the full press release here.