WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman is winding down its operations. In a statement to NPR, DHS said the office shut down because of a funding lapse in Congress targeting immigration enforcement.

Congress created the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman in 2019 to investigate detainee deaths, detainee access to medical care, and employee misconduct, among other issues. The office reviewed every report on deaths in custody and inspected detention facilities.

Congress ended the longest agency shutdown in U.S. history last week, agreeing to fund most parts of DHS but excluding some immigration enforcement functions. The measure passed by Congress and signed by President Trump did not mandate the closing of the ombudsman's office. Republicans are looking at a reconciliation process to fund all of DHS, including ICE and Border Patrol, for the remainder of Trump's term without any Democratic support.

Before the shutdown, the Trump administration stripped down the office's functions and laid off staff in civil rights areas. The administration cut hundreds of staff in some congressionally mandated oversight offices, including the ombudsman's office, to save money. DHS argued that some of those offices were "internal adversaries that slow down operations."

According to a declaration filed in court, the office had only five employees at the start of the year, down from over 100 at the start of 2025. During the government shutdown in the fall of last year, DHS said that immigration oversight officers were not working.

"Congress established OIDO to address the systematic record of abuse and medical mistreatment people have suffered in immigration detention," said Jennifer Ibañez Whitlock, senior policy council at the National Immigration Law Center. "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," Whitlock said.

The number of people who have died in immigration custody has reached an all-time high for the fiscal year. DHS officials argued that the rising death count is due to the higher number of people in custody. The administration implemented a policy that mandates the detention of anyone who entered the country illegally while they fight their deportation in court. In the last six months, the number of people who have been in ICE detention for more than a year nearly doubled to over 2,100 people.