Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her senior adviser Corey Lewandowski have been ordered by a federal judge to declare — under penalty of perjury — whether they used personal devices to discuss a major immigration policy shift that impacted hundreds of thousands of people.
The order, issued Tuesday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim in San Francisco, stems from a lawsuit filed by the National TPS Alliance. The group is seeking documents related to the Department of Homeland Security’s 2023 decision to end an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, Haitians, and others.
The plaintiffs claim Noem and Lewandowski withheld critical records by arguing they weren’t responsive to the request — despite the search terms clearly including phrases like “Temporary Protected Status” and “Tren de Aragua.” Judge Kim sided with the plaintiffs, stating the documents in question were “indisputably responsive.”
Noem, through her legal team, has argued that certain communications from late January 2025 are protected by executive or presidential communications privileges. But Judge Kim appeared skeptical, ruling that the records “on their face did not demonstrate” that such privileges applied. She ordered the Trump administration to justify the privilege claims with a sworn declaration.
“Secretary Noem and Corey Lewandowski must provide declarations under penalty of perjury that they did not use personal devices to communicate about the TPS status for Venezuelans and Haitians by July 3, 2025,” Kim wrote.
She also demanded a clear explanation as to why six specific documents should be shielded by executive privilege, noting that the evidence currently doesn’t support the claim.
Noem announced in February that she was rescinding the Biden-era TPS extension for Venezuelans, which had previously been extended through October 2026. As a result, that protected status formally ended on April 7, stripping work and residency protections from more than 300,000 people.
Though the move was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, legal challenges continue. In one instance, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ruled that roughly 5,000 Venezuelans were exempt from the Supreme Court’s decision, allowing them to retain their TPS protections.
The TPS program offers temporary legal status to migrants from countries deemed unsafe due to violence, conflict, or natural disasters.
The National TPS Alliance’s lawsuit is aimed at uncovering internal discussions that may shed light on the motivations and influence behind Noem’s decision — particularly the role played by Lewandowski, a longtime Trump ally and former campaign manager. Reports from late 2024 indicated that he played a key role in helping Noem transition into her position at the Department of Homeland Security.
The court’s deadline for the sworn declarations is July 3.
