Restore ICE Detainee Locations to the Public Locator System

Demand that ICE immediately restore all detainees to its online locator system. On September 15, the agency quietly removed thousands of people with final removal orders from the public database — with no announcement, no explanation, and no legal basis for doing so. Lawyers and families are now unable to find their loved ones or clients. That is not a bureaucratic inconvenience. It is the deliberate disappearance of people from public view. Nearly 65,000 people are currently held in ICE detention, and roughly 30 percent likely have final removal orders. The Amica Center for Immigrant Rights reports that every single one of their clients with a final order has vanished from the locator. Eight Somali men detained at Guantanamo Bay are among those now untraceable. Without location data, attorneys cannot contact clients, cannot file emergency motions, and cannot stop unlawful deportations. The ACLU has warned this makes it "nearly impossible" to challenge removals in time. The locator system exists precisely for situations like this. Restore it — fully, immediately, and for all detainees regardless of removal order status.