Democrats' DHS shutdown halts ICE oversight they demanded
The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) internal watchdog has been forced to pause a significant chunk of its oversight of immigration enforcement as Democrats continue to withhold support for funding the Cabinet-level agency.
A spokesperson for the DHS office of the inspector general (OIG) told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that most of its audits and inspections have had to be paused during the partial government shutdown, including many dealing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Democrats have called for stricter oversight of ICE since President Donald Trump surged federal law enforcement agents to blue cities across the country in a bid to crack down on illegal immigration.
But at least seven of the internal DHS probes into ICE conduct have been suspended after Democrats walked away from a bipartisan deal to fund the department, plunging it into a shutdown.
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"Most of OIG’s audits, inspections, and similar reviews… are paused during the lapse in appropriations. A small number of OIG audits related to disaster relief continue because they are supported by an extant appropriation," the spokesperson said.
"OIG’s Criminal Investigators are excepted from furlough and are continuing their work during the lapse. OIG does not publicly confirm or deny the existence of any particular criminal investigation."
Probes that have been paused include determining "whether ICE investigates allegations of use of excessive force and holds personnel accountable" and conducting "unannounced inspections to assess compliance with ICE detention standards and ensure safe, secure, and humane conditions of confinement," according to the spokesperson.
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An investigation into whether Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents are conducting domestic U.S. operations in accordance with DHS policies and federal law has also been halted.
The CBP probe is notable given it was CBP agents who shot and killed nurse Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen, during an anti-ICE demonstration in Minneapolis last month.
Democrats had called for investigations and stricter guardrails after the incident took place.
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But Pretti's killing, along with the ICE-involved killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, were two of the main catalysts that Democrats said drove them away from an earlier bipartisan deal struck on funding DHS for the remainder of the fiscal year.
The original DHS funding bill, which passed the House but failed in the Senate, included new mandatory training requirements for ICE and a mandate for body cameras for federal law enforcement.
Democratic leaders have said that was not enough, however, and have rejected another compromise offer sent by the White House in recent days.
Democrats reportedly sent back their own counteroffer to Republicans this week, but there appears to be little movement on either side toward an agreement.
Two of Democrats' biggest demands, requiring judicial warrants to execute ICE enforcement action and banning masks for ICE agents while requiring clearly accessible identification, have been panned as non-starters by Republicans.
In addition to affecting ICE oversight, a lengthy DHS shutdown also threatens funding for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), among other offices within DHS.