President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday closed down an office within the Department of Homeland Security that was tasked with preventing abuse by immigration officials.
The department’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties was shut down with immediate effect, at the same time as the administration is under fire for deporting migrants to El Salvador without giving some the chance to plead their case in an immigration court.
News of the closure came during a Friday afternoon staff meeting, Bloomberg Government reported. A spokesperson for DHS, which is under the leadership of Kristi Noem, claimed to Bloomberg the office was impeding immigration enforcement.
“These offices have obstructed immigration enforcement by adding bureaucratic hurdles and undermining DHS’ mission,” spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
The office was created as part of the 2002 Homeland Security Act. Migrant Insider reports that 90 federal workers from the office have now lost their jobs and will be paid through May 23.
An official told Bloomberg the office was integral to revealing the scope of family separation and reunification issues during Trump’s first White House stint.
Also axed on Friday, according to Bloomberg, was the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman—an independent group within DHS that Congress established in 2019 “to promote safe, humane conditions” in immigration detention.
McLaughlin claimed the office, created after allegations of inhumane conditions at detention facilities in Trump’s first term, had “misused taxpayer funds by facilitating complaints that encourage illegal immigration.”
Scott Shuchart, a former official in the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, told Bloomberg it was “dangerous” to ax his former office while immigrant detention is ramping up.
“People die in ICE custody,” he emphasized. “People die in CBP custody.”
The office closures are likely chilling for migrants like Jerce Reyes Barrios and his family.
Barrios, a professional soccer player from Venezuela, was among the 261 individuals who were abruptly deported to El Salvador over the weekend for allegedly being affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang.
Barrios’ attorney has insisted he has no affiliation with the Venezuelan gang. She says he was singled out because he threw up a common hand gesture in a selfie—which means “I love you” in sign language—and had a tattoo on his arm that was inspired by his favorite soccer team, Real Madrid.
The attorney added that Barrios was sent to a foreign prison—without counsel or family being alerted—despite him entering the U.S. legally and having no criminal record or removal order. The 36-year-old father has an asylum hearing scheduled in the U.S. for next month, his attorney said, because he was tortured by the dictator Nicolas Maduro’s regime for attending a demonstration against it.
Loved ones of others sent to El Salvador—where reports say their heads were promptly shaved and all communication denied—have also alleged due process was skipped.
The federal district judge James Boasberg agreed with those claims. He ordered the deportation flight to be called off on Saturday, but the flight was already in the air and DHS officials claimed it was too late to turn the plane around.
A legal battle over the deportations to El Salvador is still playing out in court.
