Press Releases

Following their September oversight visit of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Chantilly, Virginia, Representative James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11), Senator Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Representative Don S. Beyer, Jr. (VA-08), and Representative Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reverse its decision to furlough the civil servants responsible for oversight of ICE detention centers.

 In a bicameral letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the lawmakers raised serious concerns over the furlough of the Office of Detention Oversight (ODO), the unit charged with inspecting facilities, investigating abuse, and ensuring humane conditions for detainees.

 “We write to raise serious concerns about your decision to furlough Department of Homeland Security (DHS) civil servants within the Office of Detention Oversight (ODO). Given the concerns involving the safety of human life, we urge you to immediately reclassify DHS civil servants in charge of oversight as excepted under the Antideficiency Act and reinstate them,” wrote the members.

 The members noted that the Antideficiency Act provides an emergency exception for employees whose work is “necessary to prevent or avoid an imminent threat to human life or safety.” ODO staff, whose functions are essential to prevent death, serious injury, or severe harm, would be eligible to be excepted during the Republican shutdown.

 The Congressional leaders warned that sidelining oversight staff during a government shutdown could put human lives at risk. “This is not hypothetical—ICE has publicly reported that at least twenty people have died in its custody since January,” the members added.

 “The decision to furlough the entire ODO is a clear attempt to sabotage oversight into the conditions of ICE facilities and the wellbeing of detainees. We urge you to immediately reclassify the DHS civil servants in charge of oversight as excepted under the Antideficiency Act and reinstate them,” the members concluded.

 Text of the letter is available here.