The Department of Homeland Security on Friday eliminated numerous civil rights offices, ending oversight of its immigration policies and avenues for public complaints.
The department said it was conducting wide scale layoffs at DHS’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which ensures the agency protects “individual liberty, fairness, and equality under the law” in its policies and actions.
DHS also fired staff for the offices of two major ombudsmen, which hear complaints and work to resolve disputes within the immigration system.
The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman provides a platform for those to bring concerns about the immigration process, while the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman is a route for the public to flag issues about the problems facing those held in immigration detention.
The DHS confirmed the move, accusing both entities of obstructing the department’s mission.
Noor Abdalla, the wife of detained Columbia university graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, has announced...
