DHS's FY2026 budget justification requests zero funding for OIDO, stating the office "has been eliminated in its entirety"

The FY2026 congressional justification transmitted to Congress requested no funding at all for OIDO, explaining that "[t]his program change reflects the RIF that occurred within the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman" and adding that "OIDO has been eliminated in its entirety." It requested $1.6 million for CISOM and $4.9 million for CRCL, "allocated for interim staff salaries, severance pay, and leave payouts for employees who received RIF notifications" — against FY2025 expenditure-plan levels of $10.4 million (CISOM), $43.0 million (CRCL), and $27.3 million (OIDO). DHS officials testified that these requested levels were why hiring stopped at two full-time CRCL employees and one CISOM detailee: the FY2026 request would support only four CRCL FTE and two CISOM FTE.