Final deportation order holders disappear from online database; families and attorneys face growing difficulty locating
detainees and pursuing last-minute legal challenges
Shah J. Choudhury:— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped publicly disclosing the locations of thousands of immigrants who have final deportation orders, making it significantly harder for families and attorneys to determine where detainees are being held.
The policy took effect Sept. 15 without a public announcement. Current and former officials familiar with the change said immigrants with final removal orders were removed from ICE’s online detainee locator system. Several immigration attorneys subsequently reported that clients they had previously been able to locate had suddenly disappeared from the database.
Nearly 16,000 Had Final Removal Orders in July
Nearly 16,000 people arrested and booked into ICE detention in July were subject to final removal orders, representing more than one-third of all ICE bookings that month, according to immigration data cited in the reports.
ICE detention facilities held more than 65,000 people as of early July. A significant portion of those detainees had final removal orders, according to immigration officials and legal advocates.
The new policy does not appear to apply universally. Certain detention and temporary holding facilities are subject to court orders requiring ICE to promptly list detainees in the online locator system.
Families Struggle to Find Loved Ones
For families, the online detainee locator has long been an important way to determine whether a relative is in ICE custody and where that person is being held.
Attorneys say the change also creates serious practical difficulties. Detainees can be transferred between facilities, sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles from their homes and attorneys. Without accurate location information, lawyers may have difficulty establishing communication, arranging visits and gathering information needed for a case.
One legal-services organization reported that at least 17 of its clients with final removal orders had disappeared from the online locator in recent days. Another attorney said eight clients held at the U.S. military facility at Guantánamo Bay were no longer appearing in the system.
Legal Challenges Could Become More Difficult
The change has raised particular concerns over access to the courts.
Attorneys often need to know where a detainee is being held before filing a habeas corpus petition challenging the detention. The correct federal judicial district can depend on the location of the detainee.
Immigration lawyers therefore argue that removing detainees from the locator can make it harder to seek emergency judicial intervention before a deportation takes place.
A final removal order does not necessarily eliminate every possible legal avenue. In some cases, detainees may seek to reopen their immigration cases, challenge their detention or pursue other forms of judicial relief. Some may also have legal protections related to potential persecution or torture if returned to their countries of origin.
ICE Says Final-Order Cases Are Being Prioritized
ICE has not publicly confirmed or denied the database change. The agency has said that immigrants with final removal orders are being prioritized for deportation and that detainees have access to telephones.
Attorneys, however, say telephone access inside detention facilities can be difficult because of waiting times, costs and other restrictions. For families trying to locate a detained relative, the online database has often been the fastest way to obtain information.
A System Created to Track Detainees
ICE launched its online detainee locator in 2010, allowing relatives, attorneys and members of the public to search for people in immigration custody using information such as a name, country of birth, date of birth or immigration identification number.
Before the system existed, families often had to contact individual ICE offices or detention facilities to determine where someone was being held.
The latest change has therefore created a new information gap for families whose relatives have final removal orders.
As the Trump administration accelerates immigration enforcement, the disappearance of thousands of detainees from ICE’s public locator is raising questions about transparency, family access and the ability of attorneys to intervene before deportation. For families, the most immediate question is increasingly simple—but difficult to answer: Where is their loved one?
