US to close watchdog office for federal immigration detention abuses

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) – A U.S. watchdog office for federal detention abuses was being closed, President Donald Trump’s administration said on Tuesday.

Here are some details: 

• The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, which was gutted last year when Trump targeted oversight offices, is now being closed, the Department of Homeland Security said.

• “DHS did not shut down the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman – Congress did.  The House passed the DHS appropriations bill without objection, and it was signed into law last week,” the DHS said.

• The bill that ended a long DHS shutdown did not mandate the office’s closure, first reported by the HuffPost.

• The office reviewed abuse and misconduct in the immigration detention system. Its page on DHS’s website appeared as “Archived Content” on Tuesday.

• Trump has cracked down on immigration.

• Trump says his immigration crackdown aims to improve domestic security and curb illegal immigration.

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement detentions and Trump’s deportation drive have been condemned by human-rights advocates.

• Rights groups say such actions violate due process and free speech and create an unsafe environment, particularly for minorities.

• Rights advocates have raised concerns about ICE detention conditions.

• At least 18 deaths have been reported in ICE custody through the first four months of 2026, following 31 deaths last year, a two-decade high.

• Detention cases that sparked criticism from rights groups were the one-year detention of Palestinian American woman Leqaa Kordia, who suffered a seizure in detention and said she was chained during hospitalization.

• Another such case was the detention of Hayam El Gamal and her five children aged 5 to 18, who each reported health deterioration.

• Kordia, who lost 175 family members during Israel’s assault on Gaza, and the El Gamal family, have been released.

• The government denies mistreatment, saying detainees are allowed medical care and due process.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)