Homeland Security makes cuts to offices overseeing civil rights protections

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security is making cuts to three key offices that oversee civil rights protections across its broad mission, suggesting that they were impeding immigration enforcement efforts.

A spokeswoman for the department, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement Friday that it was implementing a “reduction in force” for three offices: the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman.

President Donald Trump has made downsizing the federal government a key policy goal.

Federal agencies were directed to submit by March 13 plans that would not only lay off employees but eliminate positions altogether and consolidate programs. The DHS developments were first reported by The New York Times.

McLaughlin said Homeland Security is “committed to civil rights protections” but said these offices were a roadblock to immigration enforcement.

"These offices have obstructed immigration enforcement by adding bureaucratic hurdles and undermining DHS’s mission. Rather than supporting law enforcement efforts, they often function as internal adversaries that slow down operations,” she said.

The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties was created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, with the mission of protecting civil liberties in the department created in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. It investigates hundreds of complaints a year about the agency's mission and recommends changes as necessary.

The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman is an independent office within Homeland Security — not connected to either Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection. Its job it is to make sure immigration detention facilities are safe and humane.

The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman is another independent office in the department responsible for helping people or businesses resolve issues with the agency that oversees immigration benefits.

Democrats slammed the moves, saying they would hurt transparency.

“With Trump’s mass firing of the entire DHS Civil Rights and Civil Liberties workforce, he is ensuring in advance that there will be no transparency or oversight of his extreme agenda," said Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Homeland Security.

A staffer who works in the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties office and asked not to be identified for fear of retribution stressed that the office's mission stretches far beyond immigration and border security, noting that they look into allegations concerning all parts of Homeland Security, including the Transportation Safety Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.