Lawsuit asks judge to make ICE reveal where it holds detainees with final deportation orders

Legal services groups sued the Trump administration on Wednesday to stop a new policy that hides where tens of thousands of immigrants with final deportation orders are being held. The suit was filed in federal court in Boston. It asks a judge to block what it calls an "unlawful and inhumane" change ¹.

Four groups are plaintiffs. One is Greater Boston Legal Services ¹. The suit says lawyers can no longer find clients, and in some cases cannot find them at all ¹.

What ICE changed

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed these detainees from its Online Detainee Locator System. It also told staff not to reveal where they are, according to the suit ¹. Three current and former officials told The Associated Press the change took effect Sept. 15 ².

The move affected more than 16,000 of the nearly 69,000 people in ICE custody as of last month ¹. Lawyers and relatives have used the locator since 2010 to follow detainees as they move between facilities ¹.

From Channel GOPEl-Sayed: ICE can't be reformed, abolish itAbdul El-Sayed · 131 plays · captioned, with the source named

ICE has not publicly confirmed the change ¹. It has said it is prioritizing people with final orders and facing a "historic number of injunctions" from courts ¹. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said detainees "have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers" ³.

What the lawsuit says

The suit says calls to ICE's information line lead to long holds, sudden hang-ups or no answer ¹. A program that schedules legal calls is used by only a small share of detention centers, it says ¹. The groups report delayed or missed filings and fewer cases taken ¹.

The groups argue the change violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it was adopted without explanation. They also say it violates the First Amendment, which protects lawyers' ability to advise people of their rights ¹. These are the plaintiffs' claims. No judge has ruled on them.

No one should be denied a meaningful opportunity to defend their rights because the government has made it impossible for their lawyer to find them

Families have felt the effect. Greg Chen of the American Immigration Lawyers Association said in September that relatives fear the person has already been deported ².

About 1.4 million people in the U.S. are subject to final removal orders ¹. They can still ask to reopen their cases, seek relief from removal to third countries and challenge violations of their rights ¹. Federal judges have ruled thousands of times that detainees should be released or get bond hearings ¹.

Democrats in Congress have objected. Reps. Luz Rivas and Veronica Escobar led more than 45 House Democrats in urging ICE to restore the names ³. A coalition of more than 30 groups also asked a United Nations working group to treat the policy as a violation of international law ³.

DHS has denied that it is disappearing detainees ¹. In a statement, it said: "The appropriate process due to an illegal alien with final deportation orders is removal, plain and simple." ³

ICE and DHS did not immediately respond to the lawsuit ¹. Next, the plaintiffs want the court to issue an order blocking the policy ¹. The listings stay in place at Adelanto, California, and at temporary sites in Minneapolis, New York and suburban Chicago. Judges ordered ICE to keep those current ².

That matters because a family cannot hire a lawyer, or a lawyer file a motion, for someone they cannot find. Whatever one thinks of immigration enforcement, the question is whether the government can hold people without telling anyone where.

The Record

1. Sep 15, 2026ICE stopped listing the locations of most detainees with final removal orders in its online locator, officials told the AP ².
2. Sep 30, 2026More than 30 groups petitioned a UN working group, and more than 45 House Democrats urged ICE to restore the names ³.
3. Oct 28, 2026Four legal services groups sued in federal court in Boston to block the policy ¹.

Sources

1. ABC News (AP), “Lawsuit seeks to block ICE from hiding locations of detainees with final removal orders” (2026-10-28). abcnews.com/US/wireStory/lawsuit-seeks-block-ice-hiding-loca
2. The Philadelphia Inquirer (AP), “ICE stops listing locations of detainees with final removal orders in online locator system” (2026-09-21). inquirer.com/news/nation-world/ice-hides-locations-detainees
3. Arab News (AP), “Human rights groups ask UN panel to help end ICE's effort to hide locations of detainees” (2026-10-01). arabnews.pk/world/human-rights-groups-ask-un-panel-to-help-e

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.