Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• ICE ended policy requiring reporting of deaths within 30 days of release — ICE quietly ended the policy requiring it to report deaths of people who die within 30 days of release from custody. Under the new policy, individuals detained, neglected, and released in crisis will not appear in the public record, and deaths will continue but remain invisible to oversight and the public.
• Deaths continue in ICE custody — The article reports that on average one person in ICE detention dies every single week, and references ongoing deaths in ICE custody.

Supporting reports

• ICE abandoned policy requiring reporting of detainee deaths within 30 days of release — Immigration and Customs Enforcement abandoned a policy established under the Biden administration in 2021 that required ICE to report to Congress and investigate deaths of detainees who died within 30 days of their release. The policy was designed to prevent ICE from circumventing accountability by releasing severely ill individuals who subsequently died. At least 18 people incarcerated in ICE detention facilities died in the first five months of 2026, and at least 30 died in 2025, the highest number in 20 years.

Supporting reports

• DHS reduced Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties staff from 147 to under 40 — According to The Guardian's review of court records, the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) was reduced from 147 full-time employees to fewer than 40. The office received nearly 6,000 complaints between late March and December 12, 2025, but approximately only 183 of those complaints were directly investigated. DHS described the oversight offices as "internal adversaries that slow down operations" when justifying the cuts. The office is responsible for investigating complaints of abuse and misconduct within immigration detention facilities and other DHS operations.
• DHS reduced Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman from 118 to 5 staff — According to The Guardian's review of court records, the DHS Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman was reduced from 118 staff members to five. This office was created by Congress to provide internal reviews and investigate complaints related to immigration enforcement and detention conditions. The office was responsible for investigating abuse allegations in immigration detention facilities, including cases involving children and pregnant women. One former employee described how detainees learned to recognize help by looking for the hummingbird logo on tablets carried by caseworkers from this office.
• DHS oversight offices drastically reduced — Court records revealed that key Department of Homeland Security oversight offices designed to investigate abuse and protect civil rights were drastically reduced. These offices serve as internal watchdogs for DHS enforcement and civil-rights compliance.

Supporting reports

• 32 people die in ICE custody in 2025, deadliest year in two decades — A total of 32 people died in immigration custody in 2025, marking ICE's deadliest year in more than two decades. This occurred during the same period when the DHS watchdog offices were dismantled (March 2025) and understaffed (March–August 2025), leaving minimal independent oversight of detention conditions. The CRCL reviewed approximately 10 death reports but investigated only one, according to court filings.
• September 2025 ICE detention conditions deteriorate — Between September 2025 and early 2026, multiple reports documented inhumane conditions in ICE detention facilities. A Guardian investigation revealed that U.S. immigration officials had been detaining people in small, secretive holding facilities for days or weeks in violation of federal policy. By the end of 2025, 32 people had died in ICE custody. The reports triggered widespread outrage over the treatment of immigrants.

Supporting reports

• DHS restaffed gutted watchdog offices with minimal personnel after lawsuit filed — After a federal lawsuit was filed in April 2025 challenging the dismantling of DHS watchdog offices, the Trump administration backtracked and allocated a very small number of people to restart the offices in August 2025. This left a five-month gap (March to August 2025) with little to no independent oversight of immigration detention, civil rights complaints, or deaths in custody. Court filings from August and February 2026 document the minimal restaffing.