The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Tuesday that it has shut down an office dedicated to exposing misconduct at immigration detention facilities.
A spokesperson for DHS argued that the closure was mandated by Congress in recently passed legislation to fund the department. The bill in question, however, did not mention the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and it remains unclear what measure the spokesperson was referring to.
“DHS did not shutdown the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman—Congress did,” a DHS spokesperson told NOTUS. “The House passed the DHS appropriations bill without objection, and it was signed into law last week.”