Overview
- Multiple news outlets and current and former ICE officials say the agency removed people with final orders of removal from its public online locator on Sept. 15, a change that was not announced.
- Attorneys and relatives report clients vanished from the system, leaving families alarmed and lawyers unable to contact detained people before transfers or removals.
- Immigration advocates warn the change makes filing habeas petitions harder because lawyers cannot identify which federal district holds a client, increasing the chance of deportation before a court can act.
- ICE told reporters it is prioritizing detainees with final orders for deportation and did not publicly confirm the locator change, while federal judges have forced carve-outs requiring prompt listings at sites such as Adelanto and some temporary holding centers.
- The online locator was created in 2010 to help families and lawyers find people in custody, and researchers say roughly 16,000 people processed into ICE detention in July had final removal orders, which makes transparency about location a central safeguard for legal rights.