Wire report

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 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. ICE removed those detainees from its online detainee locator system on 15 September, according to three current and former ICE officials who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the change. Several lawyers contacted by the AP confirmed their clients vanished from the system this week, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association warned its members about the situation on Friday.

Image from linked report: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders
Image from the linked report: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders.Credit: The Guardian Thumbnail shown with attribution and outbound source link; VINI does not claim ownership or republish the original article body. Image source Image shown with attribution and an outbound source link; VINI does not claim ownership or republish the original article body.
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Why it mattersTechnology

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 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. ICE removed those detainees from its online detainee locator system on 15 September, according to three current and former ICE officials who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the change. Several lawyers contacted by the AP confirmed their clients vanished from the system this week, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association warned its members about the situation on Friday.

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What happened

According to The Guardian’s source item, 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 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. ICE removed those detainees from its online detainee locator system on 15 September, according to three current and former ICE officials who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the change. Several lawyers contacted by the AP confirmed their clients vanished from the system this week, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association warned its members about the situation on Friday.

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Technology file for readers following technology, science, product policy, markets, infrastructure, and the public consequences of innovation. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-09-21T19:43:49+00:00.

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Source

Primary source: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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