New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in urging the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to maintain three offices within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that are meant to oversee the agency, protect people’s civil rights, and help noncitizens with immigration matters. In March, DHS announced plans to shut down three offices within the agency, the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman), and the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO), that were created by Congress to exercise oversight of various DHS programs. The offices’ sudden closure affects pending complaints and investigations and did not provide individuals or employers any alternative avenue for redress. Attorney General James and the coalition argue in an amicus brief that DHS‘s unilateral closure of congressionally mandated offices exceeds its statutory and constitutional authority and will harm the states’ residents and employers who interact with DHS. “The Department of Homeland Security cannot singlehandedly shut down congressionally mandated offices that were created to ensure the agency abides by the law,” said Attorney General James. “Shutting down DHS’s civil rights office and other offices that provide immigration services is dangerous and unprecedented. I stand with my fellow attorneys general in urging the court to keep these offices open so that people can continue to get the services they need, and DHS can be held accountable if and when it violates the law.”