The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) mistakenly informed a watchdog group that it would stop storing text messages as legally required, attributing the error to a “misunderstanding.” This confusion surfaced after the department phased out a system designed to automatically save these messages.
American Oversight expressed concern that this admission casts doubt on the agency’s commitment to manually preserve messages, emphasizing that they have yet to receive the requested public records.
This situation arose from a public records lawsuit filed by the group, seeking to access text messages sent by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during an immigration raid in Los Angeles.
DHS initially claimed that “text message data generated after April 9, 2025, is no longer maintained” and that they “no longer have the ability to conduct text message searches.”
However, a formal statement from the agency’s chief data officer revealed that the earlier assertion was incorrect.
The official noted that DHS would discontinue the use of a program that automatically saves text messages, shifting the responsibility to employees to “manually archive messages.”
“While TeleMessage software eased the burden of manual archiving and facilitated responses to FOIA requests, DHS disabled it in April 2025 due to cybersecurity issues,” the officials stated.
Court documents reveal that the National Archives has requested DHS investigate a potential destruction of records and provide a report by November 3. Yet, archives officials mentioned they still awaited a response from DHS as of October 30.
“DHS has admitted to giving inaccurate information regarding the proper preservation of text messages from Secretary Noem and other senior officials,” stated Chioma Chukwu, director of the U.S. Oversight Service. “These messages pertain to significant national issues, such as troop deployments and immigration enforcement.”
“DHS, which has misled us for months, expects us to trust that the law is being followed. They haven’t delivered the requested records, nor clarified whether the text messages of senior staff are being stored correctly. This is a moment for transparency, rather than more vague promises.”
DHS has yet to respond to requests for comment.
The Archives investigation stems from concerns raised by Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee, who questioned whether DHS may have violated the law by not informing the public about the destruction of public records.
