ICE stops publicly revealing locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding thousands of detainees subject to final deportation orders, according to an Associated Press investigation.

The Associated Press reported that ICE removed those detainees from its online detainee locator system on 15 September, citing three current and former ICE officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the change.

Several lawyers confirmed that clients had vanished from the system this week, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association warned its members on Friday, the AP said.

The change affects a large population: roughly 16,000 people arrested and booked into ICE detention in July were subject to final removal orders — more than a third of overall bookings — according to ICE data obtained by the Deportation Data Project, based at UC Berkeley and UCLA.

There are some exemptions. The Adelanto, California detention facility, and temporary holding facilities in Minneapolis, New York City and suburban Chicago are still required to list detainees promptly in the locator, after judges ordered it as part of litigation over detention practices.

Lawyers and relatives have been left distressed by the lack of information, and the practice — which applies to detainees with final orders of removal from an immigration court — makes last-minute legal challenges harder, the AP reported.

Sources

• The Associated Press, “AP Exclusive: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders”, 21 September 2026, by Ryan J. Foley — KCAU9 / Walton Tribune