- The Trump administration is closing the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, an independent watchdog office responsible for investigating allegations of abuse and misconduct within immigration detention centers.
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attributes the closure to a lack of funding in recent appropriations bills, despite the office being legally mandated and the bill's text not requiring its shutdown, with DHS stating Congress is responsible.
- This closure coincides with a significant increase in the use of force against immigrant detainees, with over 780 instances and 1,330 individuals subjected to physical force or chemical agents since Trump's return to the White House.
- The administration had previously reduced the office's staff by 96% to just five people and has overseen record numbers of detainees, reaching 73,000, and a high number of deaths in ICE custody, including 30 in 2025 and 18 this year.
- The closure is seen by advocacy groups as part of a broader strategy to make detention conditions miserable as a deterrent, while DHS plans to expand detention capacity to nearly 100,000 people daily by fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to support mass deportation efforts.
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