Weekly Spotlight: Weaponizing the DOJ
Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old Mexican immigrant and former DACA recipient, died at the Adelanto detention center in California on Monday after the detention center failed to provide him adequate medical treatment, even after his repeated requests for help.
Join our fight for a more effective and accountable government. Sign up for our Weekly Spotlight newsletter and occasional updates on POGO’s work.
ABUSING POWER AND RIGHTS
Deaths in custody
Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old Mexican immigrant and former DACA recipient, died at the Adelanto detention center in California on Monday after the detention center failed to provide him adequate medical treatment, even after his repeated requests for help. Critics had raised concerns months ago about the unsafe conditions and shortage of trained staff at California’s largest detention center, and its general inability to handle the massive influx of people being detained under the Trump administration’s sweeping and indiscriminate immigration crackdown. These problems are not unique to Adelanto’s detention center, and they are not new. But with billions in unprecedented funding flowing to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), specific directives to expand its detention capacity, and nothing being done to address the faults of the agency and its systems, a dire human rights crisis is unfolding in plain sight.
- Earlier this year, a man died in ICE custody after failing to receive treatment for HIV and tuberculosis. Read POGO’s investigation.
- At least 16 people have died in ICE custody this year. This number is a marked increase from recent years, second only to the high fatalities during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers in the Senate are demanding answers from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
- It’s not just detention capacity that’s getting a boost — ICE is, reportedly, massively expanding its office space, seeking hundreds of new sites across the country.
- A shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas killed one person and injured two others, all of whom were being detained there. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified anti-ICE messages on the shell casings. The shooting happened amid already heightened concerns about political violence.
DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE
Off the hook
In an outrageously literal cash grab, White House “border czar” Tom Homan was recorded accepting a $50,000 bribe concealed in a takeout bag from undercover FBI agents posing as business executives last year, claiming he could help them win immigration-related government contracts under a second Trump administration. Instead of cracking down on this misconduct, the Justice Department (DOJ) gave it a pass, shutting down the investigation into Homan. Meanwhile, President Trump has been openly pressuring the DOJ to go after a handful of perceived political rivals who seem to be guilty of nothing but of having disagreed with him or investigated him at some point. The DOJ is not the White House’s personal law firm. No administration should be allowed to set the Justice Department on its foes — or call it off its friends.
- Last Friday, a federal prosecutor tasked with investigating two of these targets resigned amidst mounting pressure from the president to prosecute them. He had not found plausible evidence and was raising concerns about the cases, according to officials within the DOJ.
- On Thursday, federal prosecutors in Virginia indicted former FBI Director James Comey, just days after President Trump implored DOJ to go after his perceived enemies. The prosecutor's decision to seek this indictment is deeply troubling given the context, and weaponizing the DOJ to go after political foes is a hallmark aspect of authoritarianism.
- Related: Trump’s Border Czar Involved in Detention Contract Talks Despite Recusal (Bloomberg)
POGO INVESTIGATIONS DESK
Trump-Tied Lobbyists’ Clients Keep Winning No-Bid ICE Contracts
Ballard Partners is helping companies cash in on the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, write Nick Schwellenbach and Mother Jones’ Russ Choma. Read the investigation on pogo.org.
WATCHDOG WATCH
Federal judge sides with the watchdogs
Just days after taking office, President Trump fired 17 inspectors general (IG) without notifying Congress as required by a law POGO helped pass. Now, nearly eight months later, a federal judge has ruled that this was indeed illegal, but won't reinstate the IGs to their government oversight jobs. While we're glad to see this ruling affirm that these firings were illegal, Congress could have countered this if they acted more decisively. We rely on Congress to prevent executive overreach, and we deserve better from our representatives.
Read more:
- Analysis: The Inspector General Caucus Must Stand Up Against Trump’s Illegal Firings
- Analysis: Where is Congress?
Trump-Tied Lobbyists’ Clients Keep Winning No-Bid ICE Contracts
The government could shut down as early as next Wednesday. As POGO’s Faith Williams explains, “the shutdown was brought about in part by the White House’s pocket recissions.” To make matters worse, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director is seemingly trying to use the turmoil of a shutdown to oust federal workers. In a memo, Russell Vought suggested agency heads should consider mass firings if there’s a shutdown. While this is in line with his long-held and self-touted agenda to harm federal workers, this is no solution to a shutdown and would also harm the public.
- What could happen in a shutdown?
- OMB has been accused of obscuring spending data to the public.
- Analysis: Unseen Casualties of the Shutdown: Accountability and Transparency
