ICE stops listing detainees with final removal orders in public locator system
AP reports ICE quietly dropped thousands of detainees from its online locator on Sept. 15, cutting off lawyers and families as deportations accelerate.
What to know
- ICE stopped listing most detainees with final removal orders in its public Online Detainee Locator System starting Sept. 15, an unannounced change confirmed by AP through current and former officials.
- Nearly 16,000 people booked into ICE detention in July — over a third of that month's bookings — had final removal orders, meaning the change affects a large share of the detained population.
- Lawyers say the move blocks last-minute legal challenges, especially habeas petitions, because attorneys can no longer track which facility or federal district holds their client.
- Facilities in Adelanto, Minneapolis, New York City and suburban Chicago are exempt because courts have separately ordered ICE to keep listing detainees there.
The dispute There is little disagreement on the facts or the outrage; the only tension is whether legal challenges will actually stop the practice, with some doubting courts will intervene quickly. · positions read across 227 posts and comments
This is an authoritarian tactic of 'disappearing' people that signals a broader turn toward repression.
-
“how long will we tolerate this regime disappearing our neighbors”
cynlawless.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
The change is a concrete legal problem because it will block habeas petitions and severs attorney-client contact.
-
“ICE's new policy is unprecedented... This will severely interfere with legal access.”
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
The response should be political and structural: vote Republicans out or abolish ICE.
-
“Republicans MUST BE TROUNCED this November. They need to be far out of power and brought before juries for their crimes against humanity and our Constitution.”
kimoco.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) federal agency executing the policy
Department of Homeland Security ICE's parent agencyGreg Chen Senior director of government relations, American Immigration Lawyers AssociationAaron Reichlin-Melnick (reichlinmelnick.bsky.social) Immigration policy analystGillian Brockell (gillianbrockell.com) Journalist/advocate on Bluesky
Donald Trump U.S. President
How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
-
4
Social media reaction wave calls policy authoritarian
Bluesky and mastodon users reacted with alarm, comparing the practice to disappearances under authoritarian regimes and calling for political and legal pushback, as coverage spread across wire-service outlets nationwide.
-
S
Disappearing people is what happens in authoritarian regimes. How much you wanna bet this is the brainchild of Stephen Miller? #DemVoice1 #ProudBlue #Pinks #TrumpIsACriminal
2 more of the top 3 · 184 posts in this stretch
-
H
The U.S. news today is nuts. I expect a similar pace and intensity from now through Election Day, probably beyond through Jan 3. Even amongst the swirl, though, this report of ICE/DHS latest anti-rule-of-law doings stands out. https:// apnews.com/article/ice-detaine e-locator-disappear-removal-orders-c3329a70bce424879bc5880b286c019c People in the…
-
I think it's much more likely that one day, some government bureaucrat finds an accidentally retained duplicate of a digital ledger of some kind documenting the number of bodies incinerated at certain camps run by ICE/DHS, and then we'll finally know where all the people disappeared to. Because they aren't all making it back to their home…
-
-
3
Advocates warn habeas petitions become nearly impossible
Journalist Gillian Brockell and others said attorneys will no longer know which federal district a detainee has been moved to, undermining habeas litigation, and offered to help track deportation flights via Signal and Habeas Flight Watch.
“This will make it nearly impossible to file habeas petitions, because attorneys won’t even know what federal district their client has been moved to to stage for their removal.”
— gillianbrockell.com -
G
This will make it nearly impossible to file habeas petitions, because attorneys won’t even know what federal district their client has been moved to to stage for their removal. Something like a third of all people in ICE custody.
2 more of the top 3 · 39 posts in this stretch
-
N
# ICE has begun electronically "disappearing" people in the agency's custody who have final orders of removal. As of last week, anyone jailed by ICE with a final order of removal will NOT appear in the ICE Online Detainee Locator System, making them effectively vanish. https:// apnews.com/article/ice-detaine…
-
R
ICE's new policy is unprecedented. People who have detained for months are suddenly disappearing from the locator system — even if they haven't been moved. And people newly arrested are not showing up at all, their location now hidden from view. This will severely interfere with legal access.
-
-
2
Immigration analyst confirms ICE is 'disappearing' detainees
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick posted that AP's reporting confirms ICE is electronically making detainees with final orders of removal vanish from public view, and that the change affects roughly a third of people in ICE custody.
“NEW: apnews.com confirms that ICE has begun electronically "disappearing" people in the agency's custody who have final orders of removal.”
— reichlinmelnick.bsky.social -
NEW: @apnews.com confirms that ICE has begun electronically "disappearing" people in the agency's custody who have final orders of removal. As of last week, anyone jailed by ICE with a final order of removal will NOT appear in the ICE Online Detainee Locator System, making them effectively vanish.
2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
-
how long will we tolerate this regime disappearing our neighbors
-
A
Have to think this is the admin's counter to the surge in habeas petitions.
-
-
1
AP publishes exclusive confirming the practice
The Associated Press reported the change is unannounced and applies to detainees with final removal orders, citing ICE data showing nearly 16,000 people booked in July alone were subject to such orders — more than a third of bookings that month.
“Families are freaking out because they think the person has been deported and they don’t know where the person might be.”
— Greg Chen -
first by Boston Globe, 2d ago · also Washington Post, Guardian, HuffPost, Philadelphia Inquirer, Orlando Sentinel, Baltimore Sun +2
1 more headline
-
Y
ICE is now disappearing people within the U.S. detention system
-
-
background
Lawyers notice clients vanish; AILA warns members — Immigration lawyers contacted by AP confirmed their clients disappeared from the locator that week, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association warned its members about the change on Friday.
-
background
ICE removes final-removal-order detainees from public locator — ICE quietly stopped listing most detainees with final deportation orders in its Online Detainee Locator System, according to three current and former ICE officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
-
first by TheGrio, 2d ago · also Philadelphia Inquirer, WTOP News
2 more headlines
- ICE hides location of thousands of detainees with removal orders Mastodon · 2d ago
- AP Exclusive: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders Philadelphia Inquirer · 2d ago
-
first by New Republic, 2d ago · also Independent UK
1 more headline
- ICE quietly wipes thousands of detainees from public tracking system, advocates say Independent UK · 1d ago
and 1 smaller piece
What people are saying 17 voices from 3 sites · best of 227 · verbatim
- Surely there's no way a court signs off on this when a case is brought?
- How long will this last before it's smacked down, if it is smacked down?
- Yesterday
-
V
Trump's ICE is disappearing thousands of people in their system, hiding their locations from loved ones & lawyers, & preventing them from exercising their constitutional rights. This is the lawlessness Republicans keep writing blank checks for. Not another dime!
-
We are witnessing fascist takeover of the U.S. in real time. Every American should be very worried
-
Z
https://www. theguardian.com/us-news/2026/s ep/21/ice-hides-detainee-locations ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders Immigration agency’s move makes it harder for lawyers and family to find detainees, in line with stringent Trump policy US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has stopped publicly revealing…
- Sep 21
-
J
Note the use of the phrase "erasing immigrants." That's not by accident. "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is erasing immigrants with final deportation orders from a searchable online database, leaving families and attorneys in the dark as they try to find out where someone has been taken." https://www. washingtonpost.com/immigration…
-
S
"U.S. 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 find them, according to current and former officials familiar with the practice." https://…
-
There was that rumor a few weeks ago about ICE investing in a bunch of crematoriums.
-
Makes sense since if they are banished to a deserted area in Africa and have their passports and phones confiscated, what legal recourse do they have especially since they aren’t in the US anymore? Even the locals don’t speak their language nor is there internet. Probably don’t even get their check for leaving in the first place, I don’t trust…
-
T
This is the very definition of kidnapping in the dictionary. kid·nap (kĭd′năp′) tr.v. kid·napped, kid·nap·ping, kid·naps or kid·naped or kid·nap·ing To abduct or confine (a person) forcibly, by threat of force, or by deceit, without the authority of law. https:// apnews.com/article/ice-detaine…
-
W
“If you can’t find your client, don’t know what’s happening to your client, you can’t get that information to the court to stop their removal,” she said. https://www. theguardian.com/us-news/2026/s ep/21/ice-hides-detainee-locations
-
If the potential energy isnt enough to turn the tide, there will be enough kinetic energy.
-
D
ICE is deliberately digitally disappearing thousands of detainees to escape oversight and accountability. When this is over and all these bastards are held to account, the fact they have digitally ERASED our neighbors and community members so they are denied their constitutional rights is *criminal.* HOW will families reunite? How will we know how…
-
The MSM had the story by Friday, which is why I knew something was coming out. Glad to get official confirmation though!
-
Immigration attorneys, advocates and families: You’re welcome to Signal me anytime if you think someone might be getting staged for removal, particularly Africa and Asia flights. I know a lot of particular planes’ routes and might be able to help you file habeas in the correct district.
-
More important than ever to use Habeas Flight Watch from @jjindc.bsky.social and @lexingtonalarm.bsky.social to get Habeas petitions as soon as someone is captured so they can’t be moved into the gulag archipelago. Especially for people in MN, NYC and Chicago!
-
M
You were right! Just took a couple of hours for MSM to pick this up. This is *terrifying*
-
There are some workarounds that will still allow people to learn where their loved one or legal client is being held, such as third party commissary accounts. None of those are official, and none are as comprehensive as ICE's existing system, making this a serious obstacle.
-
F
# News # ICEGestapo # Resist # NAZISTATESOFAMERICA # HellOnEarthUSA2026 # FormerUSA # CanadaSouth # WorldLaughingStock https:// apnews.com/article/ice-detaine e-locator-disappear-removal-orders-c3329a70bce424879bc5880b286c019c?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share