{"id":18692,"date":"2026-02-06T01:16:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T01:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/dhs-watchdog-details-extensive-probes-into-trumps-immigration-crackdown\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T01:16:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T01:16:45","slug":"dhs-watchdog-details-extensive-probes-into-trumps-immigration-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/dhs-watchdog-details-extensive-probes-into-trumps-immigration-crackdown\/","title":{"rendered":"DHS watchdog details extensive probes into Trump’s immigration crackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Department of Homeland Security\u2019s independent watchdog disclosed numerous investigations into the department on Thursday as the White House faces heightened scrutiny over its nationwide immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n

The probes, some of which have previously been disclosed, span ICE\u2019s hiring surge, expedited removal of individuals, use of force and compliance with detention standards. An additional review pertains to \u201cDHS\u2019 processes for determining U.S. citizenship for individuals detained or arrested during immigration enforcement operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The inspector general\u2019s office is also conducting a probe into Customs and Border Patrol. The investigation \u2014 which is reviewing whether CBP conducts interior immigration enforcement in accordance with department policies and federal requirements \u2014 was opened in early January, according to a spokesperson for the DHS OIG.<\/p>\n

The spate of investigations comes as the Trump administration faces an uproar<\/a> from Democrats and a growing number of Republicans over its immigration enforcement operations in several states, which have at times turned violent. Senate Democrats are currently holding up DHS funding<\/a> over a list of demands for reforms to ICE and CBP, including requirements that federal officers wear body cameras and IDs. The administration has also refused to budge on a demand that immigration enforcement agents do not wear masks.<\/p>\n

Spokespersons for DHS, ICE and CBP did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump purged independent watchdogs<\/a> for several government agencies during the first month of his second term, but Joseph Cuffari \u2014 the inspector general for DHS nominated by Trump during his first term \u2014 remains in place.<\/p>\n

Dozens of congressional Democrats wrote last week to Cuffari urging him to expedite his probe<\/a> into \u201cwhether ICE investigates allegations of use of excessive force,\u201d which his office opened in June.<\/p>\n

In a Thursday statement, Cuffari\u2019s office said the timeline for conducting an oversight review \u201cis affected by several variables.\u201d The office has an internal goal of completing audits within 397 days but routinely misses the benchmark, according to a report<\/a> released by the Government Accountability Office last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf, however, during our work we find matters that warrant immediate attention and action (such as those posing serious risk or imminent threat to safety, health, property, or continuity of operations), DHS OIG has mechanisms to promptly inform the Department and Congress, rather than waiting for a final report,\u201d the office said.<\/p>\n

Dozens of Democratic lawmakers have also called for the removal<\/a> of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in recent weeks, although an impeachment resolution<\/a> is unlikely to garner sufficient bipartisan support in the House.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Department of Homeland Security\u2019s independent watchdog disclosed numerous investigations into the department on Thursday as the White House faces heightened scrutiny over its nationwide immigration crackdown. The probes, some of which have previously been disclosed, span ICE\u2019s hiring surge, expedited removal of individuals, use of force and compliance with detention standards. An additional review […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18692\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}