Expelling Key US Watchdog Likely To Pave Way For Grave Immigration Abuses: Report

Last Updated:November 30, 2025, 20:48 IST

The US Department of Homeland Security has cut its civil rights watchdog staff, sparking lawsuits and whistleblower complaints over unchecked abuses under Trump administration.

The main watchdog team overseeing civil rights, the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) – one of three DHS oversight offices – has been cut from a staff of 150 to just nine (Pexels/Representative Image)

The federal watchdog system at US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) overseeing complaints regarding civil rights violations have been dismantled, which has led to the Trump administration to “abuse people with impunity", according to experts.

According to The Guardian, former federal oversight officials have sounded the alarm at the rapid dismantling of guardrails against human rights failures – at the same time as the government pushes aggressive immigration enforcement operations.

During President Trump’s second term, hundreds of officials in federal oversight offices, known as watchdogs, have been fired. The main watchdog team overseeing civil rights, the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) – one of three DHS oversight offices – has been cut from a staff of 150 to just nine, The Guardian reported.

A group of expelled watchdogs has filed a whistleblower complaint to Congress through the Government Accountability Project (GAP). Besides, a group of human rights organisations have filed lawsuit against the administration demanding the employees to be reinstated.

“They want to be able to abuse people with impunity," said Anthony Enriquez, vice-president of US advocacy and litigation at the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights advocacy group based in Washington, which is representing the group suing the government.

He added: “They want to be able to operate a system that doesn’t have any rules and that can be used to maximize brutality against people, in order to accomplish a mass deportation agenda."

In response to reports and complaints of abuses, The Guardian quoted the DHS stating through assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin stating that there are “no sub-prime" conditions in immigration custody in the US.

Last week, McLaughlin issued a statement saying: ““These claims are ridiculous. All of legally required functions of the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) continue to be performed, but in an efficient and cost-effective manner and without hindering the department’s mission of securing the homeland."

It went on to say: “As it existed in the past, the CRCL obstructed immigration enforcement by adding bureaucratic hurdles and undermining DHS’s mission. Rather than supporting law enforcement efforts, they often function as internal adversaries that slow down operations."

Meanwhile, senior director of GAP Dana Gold pointed out that without a proper oversight system “there’s just a blank check for impunity".

The Guardian quoted one former watchdog saying: “They don’t care about civil rights concerns. That’s why they fired us all. They just don’t care about the civil rights of immigrants. Even when we were there, they didn’t want to hear what we had to say – they didn’t want to let us do our jobs."

“When there was a fully-staffed, robust CRCL, there were regular inspections of ICE facilities. There were contracted experts who went on those on-site oversight visits to the facilities, who provided detailed recommendations and corrective action that had to be taken when conditions were poor or when staff was mistreating the detained individuals," the former official explained in a telephone interview with The Guardian. “By doing the regular oversight, I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that that really saved lives."

But now, “ I don’t think they’re happening – it certainly doesn’t seem CRCL has the staff to be doing those inspections", the former official added.

News world Expelling Key US Watchdog Likely To Pave Way For Grave Immigration Abuses: Report

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