DHS watchdog paused some probes of immigration enforcement amid shutdown

Source: NBC News

April 10, 2026, 5:22 PM EDT


WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog has paused an ongoing audit of no-bid contracts due to the continuing shutdown of funding to the agency, as well as reviews of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities and instances of possible use of excessive force in immigration enforcement, according to a DHS official and an administration official.

Other DHS inspector general reviews that have been put on hold because of the shutdown include four inquiries of the Secret Service’s response to the July 2024 assassination attempt of President Donald Trump, ICE’s progress in finding and checking on the safety of immigrant children who entered the United States unaccompanied, and a review of Homeland Security Investigations’ efforts to combat the spread of fentanyl across U.S. borders.

Overall, roughly 85% of the audits by the DHS inspector general are on pause, according to a statement from the inspector general’s office to NBC News.

The pause in internal oversight at DHS is a previously unreported consequence of the partial government shutdown that has halted funding to the agency and is now entering its eighth week with little indication that it will end soon. It comes as arrests by ICE continue amid the shutdown, in part due to the agency’s $75 billion infusion by a sweeping tax and spending bill Trump signed last year.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/dhs-watchdog-paused-probes-immigration-enforcement-shutdown-rcna273627