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Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) and Congresswoman Luz Rivas (CA-29) led 45 of their colleagues in a letter urging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director David Venturella to restore detainee details to the Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS). The Members’ letter comes after a disturbing report from the Associated Press revealed that ICE began removing individuals with final orders of removal from ODLS. ODLS allows family members, legal representatives, and members of the public to locate individuals detained by ICE.

On September 21, 2026, the Associated Press reported that ICE began removing individuals with final orders of removal from ODLS on September 15, 2026. This change in policy was not publicly announced, and was not communicated to detainees’ families or legal representation. The Washington Post also reported that ICE’s new policy bars immigration officials from sharing information with their attorneys or relatives by phone.

The full letter can be found here or below:

Dear Acting Director Venturella:

We write with serious concern regarding a recent report from the Associated Press (AP) that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) implemented a policy change to its Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS) on September 15, 2026, so that individuals with final removal orders from an immigration court no longer appear in the searchable database while they remain in ICE custody. ODLS is a public system that allows family members, legal representatives, and members of the public to locate individuals detained by ICE. We urge ICE to restore ODLS location in- formation for all individuals with final removal orders who remain in ICE custody and to provide Congress with the justification underlying this change. The federal government should not be denying any individual access to legal counsel or shielding their whereabouts from loved ones.

ICE created ODLS so that family members, legal representatives, and members of the public can locate individuals in immigration custody. On September 21, 2026, AP reported that ICE began removing individuals with final orders of removal from ODLS on September 15, 2026. ICE has not publicly announced this change in policy and has not communicated to detainees’ families or legal representation where detainees are currently held who have disappeared from ODLS. The Washington Post also reported that ICE’s new policy bars immigration officials from sharing information with their attorneys or relatives by phone, information that ICE has been providing for decades. This is a wholly unprecedented move by the United States government to impede both access and legal representation for people in federal custody. It is also contrary to foundational principles of the American legal system, where there is a general right to know where a prisoner is being held.

The consequences of this change extend beyond public transparency. Immigration attorneys have reported losing track of clients after they disappeared from ODLS, while family members are un- certain whether their loved ones were transferred to another facility or removed from the United States completely. For families, this uncertainty in suddenly losing contact with a loved one can lead to anxiety, trauma, and the continued mistrust of the federal government. Detainees may be held in facilities thousands of miles away from their homes, and while ICE maintains that detainees have access to phones while in custody, detainees are not always able to place phone calls due to the cost of the calls, high demand for phone usage, or a combination of these and other factors. Attorneys have warned that losing access to a detainee’s location can interfere with communication and make time-sensitive legal challenges more difficult to pursue, especially where venue for litigation depends on knowing where someone is physically detained. Individuals with final orders of removal may still have pending legal claims or other avenues for relief, making continued access to counsel especially important.

Individuals with final orders of removal are routinely held in ICE custody for days, weeks, or months. Some individuals with final orders cannot be rapidly deported due to difficulty obtaining travel documents, or logistical challenges. Others have been granted protection from deportation to their home country and remain detained for substantial periods of time while ICE appeals the decision or seeks a third country of removal. Under ICE’s new policy, these individuals will be hidden from the public, with their lawyers and family members having no way to determine where they are being held at any time.

This unprecedented policy also substantially interferes with the oversight capacity of Members of Congress from locating constituents who have been detained by ICE and the ability of detainees’ legal counsel to determine where an individual is being held.

As part of our Congressional oversight responsibilities, we request a response to the following information by October 14, 2026:

1. Immediate restoration for all individuals with final removal orders detained by ICE back into ODLS.
2. Is ICE withholding information on detainees’ location from their family members and their lawyers who are calling or emailing to request this information, in addition to no longer listing the location of a detainee on the online locator system?
3. What directive, guidance, memorandum, or other instructions were ordered as part of the change to ODLS that removed detainees who are subject to final removal orders? Provide this in writing, in addition to how ICE’s new policy constitutes a final order of removal.
4. What procedures has ICE established to ensure that attorneys and family members can promptly determine the location of individuals with final removal orders who remain in ICE custody, but no longer appear in ODLS?
5. Provide a list of ICE detention facility locations that are currently exempt from this policy, either due to a judicial order or for any other reason.