Trump Administration Closes Watchdog Office For Immigration Detention Abuses

[BumRushDaShow]

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

[UpInArms]

1. Cruelty is a feature

Not a bug

[Picaro]

2. The abuse is accelerating

As this administration crumbles their desperation is causing them to move faster and faster.

We need a general strike to yank them up short. Only that will cause the money bros to reconsider their unwavering support for this madness.

These people are not people but monsters in human form.

I’m as guilty as anyone in not really doing anything to fight this. I keep moving through my comfortable life desperately hoping that things will return to normal. But the truth is that this is normal. The late 70’s thru the early 90’s were historically a golden age.

But racism never went away. Misogyny never went away. Hatred never goes out of style in this country.

In the late 60’s and early 70’s I was deeply ashamed of my country. Then we almost lived up to our hype about being the land of the free.

The shame has returned.

[hedda_foil]

7. You're saying that the Reagan/GHW Bush administrations were a golden era?

That's interesting.

[Picaro]

12. Compared to this?

Here is rest of my point…

Post Nixon Democrats were often in control and were able to pass a lot of progressive legislation.

Reagan’s reign was pretty horrible. But things were still operating fairly normally. Bipartisanship still existed. Not all Republicans had crossed so fully to the dark side.

Good things were getting done. Sometimes.

Politics are always a dirty fight. But there were people on the other side that would work for the common good at times.

What is happening now is the country being administratively dismantled, the legislative branch hadn’t surrendered to the executive, and no one was explicitly supporting racism, pedophilia, ephebophilia, misogyny, fiscal recklessness. Most Republicans still had a vestigial sense of shame and when they got nailed would do the right thing and resign.

The seeds of now were all planted then but had not fully flowered.

In the history of this country this was as good as it got other than the few brief years of the post-Civil Wat reconstruction. The FDR years were a very mixed bag and while I very much admire the accomplishments of the New Deal the stain of systemic institutional racism makes the title of “golden age” inaccurate.

[wnylib]

3. I feel like we should have massive protests at the concentration camps

and in DC and across the country. Make it world wide if possible. Get the names of people who run the camps and who work there. No need to dox them. Just save the names for the American Nuremberg trials.

Crimes against humanity.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. I think every single one across the country is being protested daily by various local groups

That fact never "makes the 'national news'" but is usually reported on by local news outlets unless there is some violent confrontation, only then garnering enough attention.

[Chasstev365]

4. Add this to the list of crimes to be presented at the war crimes trials

[Joinfortmill]

5. Very disturbing. So Nazi-like. It gives me the shivers.

We're not doing enough to stop him and his fascist thugs.

[chowder66]

8. Lock that fucker up and put a straight jacket on him.

[republianmushroom]

9. trump and his private SS Gestapo with no oversight.

[kimbutgar]

10. if we survive this reign of terror and the 🍊🐖💩is out of office

We will find out that children and women were raped. A lot of detainees are being tortured and more deaths not being reported. They are committing crimes against humanity in these concentration camps and the scars will hurt American for generations to come.

I never thought America would become this low and horrendous.

[Bayard]

11. There needs to be more unannounced Congressional inspections,

And regularly. Although nothing much has come of them so far, every bit of publicity will pile up. Reference the public horror that resulted from Abu Graib.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. Congressional Reps local to facilities in their Districts

have been doing that but they often have to go to court to force the facilities to let them in. Few of those visits make national news though.

[Solly Mack]

14. ...