Trump shuts down key DHS oversight offices amid immigration crackdown

Trump shuts 3 watchdog agencies overseeing immigration crackdown

The Trump administration has dismantled three major oversight offices within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), eliminating agencies responsible for investigating civil rights violations and overseeing immigration detention practices. The move, announced Friday, affects over 100 employees in the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, as well as two ombudsman offices that monitor detention conditions and legal immigration procedures.

According to current and former government officials, the cuts are part of a broader campaign to remove what the administration sees as internal obstacles to its aggressive immigration enforcement agenda.

As a DHS spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin justified the decision as necessary to “streamline oversight and remove roadblocks to enforcement.” She accused the offices of “functioning as internal adversaries” that hinder DHS operations rather than supporting law enforcement efforts.

Critics, however, called the move a blatant attempt to eliminate transparency and sidestep accountability.

“This is a demonstration of their total contempt for any checks on their power,” said Deborah Fleischaker, a former official in the civil rights office and former chief of staff at ICE under the Biden administration. She said the shuttered offices had worked to ensure civil rights, liberties, and privacy were upheld in DHS operations.

The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, created in 2002, investigated hundreds of complaints annually, including those related to DHS agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The two ombudsman offices—one for immigration detention and another for Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)—acted independently to ensure the humane treatment of detainees and help the public navigate immigration bureaucracy.

The offices had previously investigated controversial Trump-era policies, such as the Remain in Mexico program, which forced asylum seekers to wait outside the US for their court dates. A 2021 report found the program placed unaccompanied minors and individuals with medical conditions in unsafe conditions.

The latest action comes as the Trump administration, aided by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), pushes forward with a sweeping “reduction in force” to eliminate federal agencies deemed redundant or obstructive. DOGE has been tasked with identifying and cutting bureaucracies across the government.

Democrats condemned the move, with Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, saying the firings were designed to eliminate “transparency or oversight of [Trump’s] extreme agenda.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s broader strategy to eliminate internal resistance has drawn judicial scrutiny. In a Friday hearing, federal Judge James E. Boasberg expressed frustration with the administration’s lack of cooperation in an investigation into whether it violated a court order halting deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a law dating back to 1798.

“The government is not being terribly cooperative at this point,” Boasberg said. “But I will get to the bottom of whether they violated my order and who was responsible.”

Trump, in response, has called for Judge Boasberg’s impeachment, underscoring his commitment to installing loyalists throughout the government in his second term and removing any elements that may challenge or slow down his policies.

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