Restore Independent Immigration Detention Oversight

DHS closed the only independent office inspecting immigration detention on May 5, 2026, while the death rate in ICE custody hit a 22-year high.

A letter to your members of Congress. Facts checked September 26, 2026.

The Letter

Subject Restore Independent Immigration Detention Oversight

People held in immigration detention are in the government's custody, and the government is responsible for keeping them alive. The death rate in ICE detention has reached its highest level in 22 years, according to physicians who studied the records. Yet on May 5, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security shut down the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, the small independent office that took complaints from detained people and inspected facilities. It had already shrunk from more than 100 staff to five. Detention keeps growing while the people checking on it are gone. Please restore and fund the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman in the next Homeland Security funding bill.

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U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121

I'm calling to ask the member to restore the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman.
DHS shut the office down on May 5, 2026, after cutting it from more than 100 staff to five.
The death rate in ICE detention is at a 22-year high.
Please restore and fund the Ombudsman in the next Homeland Security funding bill.

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The Facts Behind the Ask

May 5, 2026 DHS shut down the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (source)
22-year high death rate in ICE detention, per physicians who reviewed the records (source)

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