The US government has shut down the only independent office tasked with investigating abuse in immigration detention centers, even as use of force against detainees surges and private prison corporations profit from what advocates describe as forced labor. The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman—required by law—has gone dark, leaving tens of thousands of people with no formal avenue to report abuse, coercion, or exploitation.

A surveillance gap that puts detainees in danger

The ombudsman’s closure removes a critical layer of oversight from this system. An internal email seen by HuffPost attributes the shutdown to funding gaps in the Homeland Security appropriations bill. However, nothing in the bill’s text required the closure. By December 2024, the office had already been reduced to just five staff, a 96 percent reduction. Now it is gone entirely, its public-facing complaints website taken offline.

The timing could not be more consequential. The detention population has hit a record 73,000 people, with ICE planning to expand capacity to 99,000 by 2027. Meanwhile, use of force is climbing sharply. More and more detainees are reporting detention center staff using physical force or chemical agents, such as pepper spray, on detainees in response to hunger strikes or detainees asking for things which they are legally entitled to, like water and medical care.

Reportedly, the number of detainees subjected to force surged to 1,330—a 54% increase from the previous year under the previous administration. And just as the only office where families and attorneys could file complaints was shut down.

More than 30 people died in ICE detention in 2025—the deadliest year for detainees in over two decades. At least 18 have died so far this year.

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