A retired Border Patrol official says the government tried to strip his legal representation to stop him from speaking publicly — bad news for whistleblowers inside federal law enforcement.

• A retired chief was warned by phone that his legal representation would be pulled if he kept talking.
• The warning was tied to his public claim that 105 million people are in the country illegally.
• The pressure is attributed to Tom Homan and people working for him.
• Losing legal representation would leave him exposed if the government came after him.

Outlook: Expect more fights over whether current and former federal officials can speak freely about immigration enforcement.