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DHS Shutdown Halts 60% of Watchdog Staff Amid Rising ICE Detention Numbers

DHS Shutdown Halts 60% of Watchdog Staff Amid Rising ICE Detention Numbers
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A partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that began on Feb. 13 forced its internal watchdog to furlough roughly 60% of staff, suspending most audits and inspections even as immigration enforcement and detention continue to expand under earlier, multi‑year funding.politico +1 The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) warned that the funding lapse could imperil oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at a time when ICE holds more than 70,000 people in custody nationwide.politico +1

The shutdown followed a standoff in which Senate Democrats blocked a DHS funding bill, demanding reforms such as mandatory body cameras, visible ID numbers, limits on warrantless home arrests and a ban on masks for immigration agents before agreeing to extend money for the department.politico +1 While many frontline DHS functions, including airport screening and border enforcement, are deemed “essential” and continue to operate, watchdog work has been sharply curtailed, with only criminal investigators and personnel funded through special accounts allowed to keep working.politico +1

Oversight Cut Back as Enforcement Continues to Grow

DHS OIG announced that the majority of its audits, inspections and program reviews are paused, leaving gaps in monitoring use‑of‑force incidents, detention conditions and surveillance programs.politico Former Interior Department inspector general Mark Greenblatt said such pauses can leave “raw” situations without an independent fact‑finder, particularly in fast‑moving controversies like recent shootings by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis.politico +1

The hiatus comes on top of earlier cuts to internal civil‑rights watchdogs: in 2025 DHS dismantled or “reduced in force” three offices that handled complaints about immigration detention and enforcement, eliminating about 300 oversight jobs.federalnewsnetwork At the same time, ICE and CBP are operating with billions in multi‑year money approved in a 2025 omnibus bill that steered about $45 billion into migrant detention and enforcement, including funding to hire at least 10,000 new ICE personnel and acquire large warehouse‑style detention sites.subscriber With enforcement growing and oversight shrinking, advocacy groups such as the ACLU argue the shutdown “only disrupts” already strained accountability systems.politico +1

Legal Powers and Political Pressure on the Watchdog

Even before the shutdown, DHS leadership had drawn scrutiny over its dealings with the inspector general. Senator Tammy Duckworth said DHS’s general counsel repeatedly reminded the OIG that Secretary Kristi Noem could use a 1978 law, 5 U.S.C. § 417, to halt specific audits or investigations, warning in a Feb. 5 letter that such “tacit threats” risked weakening the office’s independence.fortune The statute allows cabinet secretaries to block IG work they deem harmful to national security or core agency functions, with after‑the‑fact notification to Congress.fortune

DHS officials rejected suggestions of intimidation. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said critics who dislike the law “have full constitutional authority … to change the law,” emphasizing that the secretary’s power is explicitly provided by Congress.fortune Republicans, led by House Homeland Security Chair Andrew Garbarino, have pressed Democrats to pass the department’s funding and argue that any disruption to oversight is a temporary byproduct of partisan brinkmanship that will end once appropriations are restored.politico Civil‑liberties groups counter that, amid a surge in deaths in ICE custody and record‑high detention numbers, the combination of a narrowed watchdog office and a shutdown‑driven furlough of 60% of OIG staff leaves too much power unchecked.subscriber +1

The Bigger Picture

The clash over DHS funding has become a referendum on how much scrutiny immigration enforcement should face as the government detains more people in more places, often far from public view. With enforcement operations and new detention capacity largely insulated from the current funding lapse while the main oversight arm is sidelined, the shutdown has sharpened long‑running questions about whether Congress and internal watchdogs can keep pace with the department they are meant to police.politico +2