DHS eliminates civil rights and oversight offices through mass layoffs
DHS implemented a reduction in force eliminating over 300 employees across three oversight offices—the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman. Over 100 CRCL employees lost their jobs. DHS spokesperson called these statutorily-required offices “internal adversaries” that “obstructed immigration enforcement.” The cuts occurred as 11 people died in ICE custody since FY2025 began. By May, only a handful of executives remained, unable to perform mandated oversight functions.
Key Actors
Sources (9)
- Homeland Security makes cuts to civil rights and immigration oversight offices (2025-03-21)
- Department of Homeland Security guts civil rights team (2025-03-21)
- Trump administration closes three DHS offices focused on civil rights and oversight (2025-03-22)
- Elon Musk's Pentagon visit sparks questions about sensitive information access (2025-03-21)
- Pentagon changed course for Musk visit after report about him viewing China war plans: Officials (2025-03-21)
- Trump Denies Musk Will Get Briefed on Top-Secret US War Plans With China (2025-03-21)
- Tornado Cash Delisting (2025-03-21)
- U.S. Government Removes Tornado Cash Sanctions (2025-03-21)
- U.S. Treasury Lifts Tornado Cash Sanctions Amid North Korea Money Laundering Probe (2025-03-21)
Help Improve This Timeline
Found an error or have additional information? You can help improve this event.
Edit: Opens GitHub editor to submit corrections or improvements via pull request.
Suggest: Opens a GitHub issue to propose a new event for the timeline.