Rep. Vasquez Demands Oversight Following DHS Office Closures and Reports of Abuse in Detention Centers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) is demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following the abrupt closure of key internal oversight offices and disturbing reports of abuse of migrants in DHS detention facilities.

Vasquez wrote a letter this week with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), calling on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to immediately reinstate the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), the USCIS Ombudsman, and the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO)—all of which were quietly shut down in recent weeks. These closures eliminate essential channels of accountability and transparency, just as new reports of human rights violations are surfacing.

“We’re witnessing one of the most dangerous uses of unchecked power under DHS in modern history,” said Vasquez. “Shutting down oversight offices, violating due process, and detaining migrants in unsanitary conditions, military bases and  foreign prisons is inhumane and un-American.”

The letter comes amid growing concerns about the expansion of immigration detention, including proposals to detain migrants at U.S. military installations like Fort Bliss and Kirtland Air Force Base, both of which are located in or near communities Vasquez represents.

During a House Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Vasquez pressed senior military officials on the reported use of DOD facilities for civil immigration enforcement. He raised sharp concerns about diverting defense resources away from critical missions, like stopping the flow of fentanyl across the southern border.

“The Department of Defense should be focused on responding to global threats and military readiness, not detaining civilians,” Vasquez said. “This shift in posture by DHS and DoD not only raises legal questions—it’s bad strategy and bad stewardship of public resources.”

As the representative for a district that spans 180 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, Vasquez has consistently advocated for immigration policy that is smart, lawful, and humane—including pushing back on efforts to militarize border communities or bypass oversight.

You can read the full letter HERE.

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