Trump Administration Closes Watchdog Office For Immigration Detention Abuses

Source: Huff Post

May 4, 2026, 04:25 PM EDT | Updated 8 hours ago


The Department of Homeland Security is closing an office responsible for investigating misconduct and abuse in the immigration detention system, according to an internal email to DHS employees obtained by HuffPost. The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman is in the process of removing all its public signage and ending its inspections, according to the email.

The office’s public-facing website, which advised the families and attorneys of detainees on how to file complaints, was down as of Monday afternoon. Even basic informational webpages explaining the office’s responsibilities appeared to have been taken offline. The email attributed the closure to a lack of funding in the Homeland Security appropriations bill that ended the recent shutdown, though the text of that bill does not require the closure of the ombudsman’s office.

“DHS did not shutdown the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman — Congress did,” an agency spokesperson told HuffPost in an email. “The House passed the DHS appropriations bill without objection, and it was signed into law last week.”. The closure of the ombudsman’s office adds to the lack of oversight of immigration jails nationwide, despite the Trump administration’s efforts to surge detention capacity.

Earlier this year, a record 73,000 people were being held in immigration detention facilities, CBS News reported, though that number has recently decreased slightly to around 60,000. Over 30 people died in ICE custody last year — making it the deadliest year for ICE detainees since 2004. So far this year, ICE has reported 18 deaths in custody, marking an even deadlier pace so far.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/immigration-detention-ombudsman-closure_n_69f8facee4b0115dd7bf98e5?origin=home-latest-news-unit