DHS Shuts Down Critical Detention Oversight Office Amid Rising Deaths in Custody

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has shuttered its Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO), the internal watchdog tasked with monitoring conditions, investigating detainee deaths, and probing misconduct in immigration detention facilities. This closure coincides with a troubling spike in deaths among people held in custody and occurs as the Trump administration continues to detain more individuals for longer periods.

Created by Congress in 2019 to provide independent oversight separate from ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), OIDO was designed to address systemic abuses and medical neglect within the immigration detention system. Yet, despite its critical role, DHS officials told NPR that the office was forced to cease operations due to a funding lapse affecting immigration enforcement functions.

"DHS did not shut down the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman—Congress did," DHS stated, pointing to a recent appropriations bill that funded most of DHS but excluded certain immigration enforcement activities. The agency has already archived several OIDO webpages, signaling a significant rollback of transparency.

Advocates and lawmakers warn this shutdown leaves detainees vulnerable. Jennifer Ibañez Whitlock of the National Immigration Law Center emphasized, "Congress was clear that this office was established to be independent from ICE and CBP and to provide redress to people in detention when DHS officials or contractors engaged in misconduct or violated their rights."

The closure is part of a broader pattern under the Trump administration, which has systematically gutted internal oversight offices. OIDO's staff dwindled from over 100 employees in early 2025 to just five at the start of this year, according to court filings by Ronald Sartini, acting deputy immigration detention ombudsman. DHS previously described such oversight personnel as "internal adversaries that slow down operations."

The timing could not be worse. The number of people dying in ICE custody has reached an all-time high, a fact DHS attributes to the increased detainee population. Meanwhile, the administration’s policy mandating detention for anyone who entered the country illegally has resulted in prolonged incarcerations, with over 2,100 people detained for more than a year—nearly double the number from six months ago.

Democrats and immigration advocates highlight the dangers of losing independent oversight, especially as detention centers face overcrowding and delays in reporting deaths. During last year’s government shutdown, immigration oversight officers were reportedly not working, further exposing detainees to unchecked abuses.

Without OIDO, reports of violations in detention facilities risk going uninvestigated and unresolved, potentially allowing a continuation of the same inhumane conditions and civil rights violations that Congress sought to address when it established the office.

As the Trump administration scales up its detention apparatus, the shuttering of OIDO marks a dark milestone in the erosion of accountability within the immigration enforcement system—one that could cost lives and undermine the rule of law.