June 11, 2025
Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Whistleblower Client Testifies at Senate Judiciary Committee Spotlight Forum
WASHINGTON – Government Accountability Project whistleblower client Rebekah Tosado, a 23-year veteran of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), testified today before Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats at the spotlight forum “Cruel and Unamerican: The Abuse of Immigrants to Attack Our Constitutional Order.”
Tosado told lawmakers that in March 2025 DHS abruptly terminated CRCL’s statutory authority, revoked staff access to departmental systems and offices, and froze open investigations—more than 500 complaints alleging medical neglect, sexual abuse, retaliation against perceived Trump voters, and unsafe detention conditions.
Tosado, a non-partisan civil servant who has been employed at CRCL for over 22 years, chose to testify publicly following Government Accountability Project’s May 15, 2025 filing of protected whistleblower disclosures to Congress on behalf of more than 30 anonymous CRCL employees raising concerns about the illegal and dangerous consequences of gutting the oversight office.
Dana Gold, attorney for the whistleblowers and Director of Government Accountability Project’s Democracy Protection Initiative, said: “Public servants like Rebekah stepped forward because lives are at stake. What this spotlight forum made clear is that DHS’ action in suppressing a watchdog that...
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