DHS Watchdog Offices Gutted as ICE Custody Deaths Hit Record High

Congress eliminated funding for the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman and the administration has cut the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties from more than 100 employees to fewer than five, Bloomberg Law reported September 30, leaving the department's Inspector General, funded at $20 million for inspections, as the only remaining outside check on immigration detention. The cuts coincide with what Bloomberg Law describes as the deadliest fiscal year on record for ICE custody, with 37 deaths including five presumed suicides and 13 still under investigation or awaiting autopsy, among more than 60,000 people held in detention at any given time.

Former DHS civil rights officials Peter Mina and Claire Trickler-McNulty said the loss of independent oversight removes a channel for catching abuse before it turns fatal, pointing to cases including one death later ruled a homicide by local authorities.

DHS has not announced plans to restore the eliminated offices or expand Inspector General staffing to cover the gap.