ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders: AP News
The change affects thousands of people and could make last-minute legal challenges harder to file, immigration lawyers said.
- On Sept. 15, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed detainees with final removal orders from its online locator system, preventing lawyers and families from tracking people in custody.
- The move reflects President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, increasing pressure on detainees to waive appeals and agree to deportation.
- Nearly 16,000 people booked into ICE detention in July held final removal orders out of more than 65,000 total detainees; Atenas Burrola Estrada, deputy program director at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, reported that 17 of her clients vanished from the system.
- Among those missing are eight Somali men held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; My Khanh Ngo of the American Civil Liberties Union said the change makes it "nearly impossible" for attorneys to help clients challenge their removals.
- The Department of Homeland Security argues detainees receive due process through immigration courts; however, advocates warn the practice mimics "disappearing people" in other countries, threatening individual rights.
114 Articles
114 Articles
Lawyers and family members face complications to locate and help them
ICE Disappears Thousands of Detainees and Blocks Legal Challenges Against Deportation
By Vanessa Beeley – Sep 24, 2026 An investigation by AP has revealed that the notorious ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has stopped publicly “revealing where it is holding thousands of detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, an unannounced move that has made it far more difficult for lawyers and relatives to […]
Report: ICE Stops Listing Detainees With Final Removal Orders in Online Locator
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed detainees subject to final removal orders from its online detainee locator on Sept. 15, according to current and former officials. The change was not announced publicly, and an agency statement provided to the Associated Press did not confirm or deny it. Attorneys confirmed that clients with final removal orders disappeared […]
In July, the U.S. immigration agency ICE arrests 50,000 people - as many as never before under President Trump. Family members and lawyers are supposed to remain informed about where the migrants are imprisoned. But all of a sudden, thousands of people are missing in the online search system.
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