That’s fair. Have you directly observed anything that makes you think asking for a referral might get you fired?

If your current company is just a normal company, it might ruffle some feathers. But that company needs you to do the work, so most of the time they’re not just going to fire you for looking somewhere else.

Can you ask someone outside the company for a referral? Most of the time it’s not a key factor in getting hired - they’re just checking a box.