Caitlin Dickerson

Then you have the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General.

Beyond that is when you get to these layers that no longer exist.

So Congress created offices like the Ombudsman for Detention, like the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, offices that were intended to do

investigations into incidents like these after the local law enforcement and after the IG had done theirs to really get to the bottom of what happened, and then to also look at policies and procedures to prevent violent incidents from happening again in the future.

But one of the first things that happened after Trump took office is that those extra offices, those extra layers of investigation were eliminated through doge cuts.

And

When ICE was handed the biggest paycheck it ever received in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, there were no added measures for accountability, which is really significant.

You know, the job of appropriators is to give money to federal agencies, but also to lay out requirements for how that money is spent.

And that's where accountability in the federal government happens.

So typically, when ICE received its appropriations money, you would see lots of requirements in there, things like reporting requirements, you know, reporting to Congress, how many people were injured and use of force incidents, how many people were killed.

And you can even see in appropriations bills.

You know, repercussions for people who violate policy in ways that result in harm.

I was amazed when I read the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that there was nothing of the sort included.

It effectively handed ICE and other elements of the Department of Homeland Security blank checks with no rules attached.

So a new appropriations bill would make a big change.

I think a taller order.

But another thing that Congress could do is update the immigration law itself.

Right.

To change who ICE is pursuing in the first place.

So I think the public is really.