Independent agency overseeing misconduct in immigration detention facilities shut down

An independent office within the Department of Homeland Security that investigates misconduct and handles complaints regarding safety, medical care, and legal access in immigration detention has been shut down, the agency confirmed.

The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman -- which saw most of its employees placed on leave last year -- was established in 2019 to provide independent oversight of immigration detention facilities and recommend improvements, according to advocates.

DHS said on Wednesday it blamed the closure of the office on Congress.

“DHS did not shut down the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman – Congress did,” a spokesperson for DHS said. “The House passed the DHS appropriations bill without objection, and it was signed into law last week.”

While the appropriations bill passed last week funds most of DHS, lawmakers excluded funds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and parts of Customs and Border Protection due to ongoing political gridlock. In response, Republican lawmakers are now attempting to provide three years of funding for ICE and parts of CBP through a procedural tool known as budget reconciliation that would allow them to pass the funding without Democratic support.

However, despite ICE not receiving funding through the appropriations bill passed last week, much of the agency has remained funded throughout the shutdown via the mega bill.

A DHS spokesperson did not respond to questions regarding why the independent watchdog office is not being funded through the legislation or whether the office will be reinstated if Republicans successfully fund ICE through their reconciliation package.

In response to the office closure, Anthony Enriquez, an attorney with the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, said the closure of the office is an “unlawful choice” by the federal government.

“Congress passed no statute that says we are repealing the office of the immigration detention ombudsman,” Enriquez said. “The law that exists on the books right now is that this office must exist.”

The non-profit organization is currently suing the federal government over its intent to close the three oversight offices within DHS, including the Office of the Immigration Ombudsman.

The closure of the watchdog office comes amid concerns from lawmakers and immigrant advocates about the conditions in detention facilities. As of last week, 49 people have died in ICE detention during the second Trump administration. The rise in fatalities coincides with a record-high detention population, which currently stands at around 60,000 in federal immigration custody.

Appearing before a House subcommittee hearing last month, outgoing Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said the number of deaths is high because "we do have the highest amount in detention that ICE has ever had since its inception in 2003."

“If there is no longer anybody that is watchdogging these agencies in order to ensure that these types of abuses aren't occurring, we're just going to see more of these abuses occur,” Enriquez said.