Boston – Four nonprofit groups that provide legal services to immigrants filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking a court order to block a new Trump administration policy that removes detainees’ locations from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Online Detainee Locator System. The plaintiffs argue the change violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the First Amendment by preventing lawyers from locating and representing their clients.
Policy change and its impact
According to the complaint, ICE began concealing the locations of people with final removal orders last month in order to speed up deportations. The move affected more than 16,000 of the roughly 69,000 individuals then in ICE custody. Lawyers and family members who have relied on the online system since 2010 now face “significant” delays in finding clients, leading to missed filings and fewer cases being taken.
“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,” said Jacquelynne Bowman, executive director of Greater Boston Legal Services, one of the plaintiffs. “This arbitrary new administrative change leaves hundreds of thousands of people at risk of potentially life‑altering consequences without essential legal help.”
Government response
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE have not publicly confirmed the policy but maintain that they are simply prioritizing the removal of individuals with final orders. DHS released a statement asserting that “illegal aliens in detention have several ways to communicate with their family members and lawyers,” and that “the appropriate process due to an illegal alien with final deportation orders is removal, plain and simple.”
ICE officials also noted that they are confronting a “historic number of injunctions” from courts attempting to block their enforcement actions, and they deny that detainees are being “disappeared,” emphasizing that detainees remain free to make phone calls.
Legal background
Approximately 1.4 million people living in the United States are subject to final orders of removal, meaning an immigration judge has ruled they should be deported and the decision has been upheld on appeal or not appealed. Those individuals retain several legal avenues, including motions to reopen proceedings, applications for relief to third countries, and challenges to detention conditions. Federal judges have repeatedly ordered detainees released or granted bond hearings.
The lawsuit contends that the sudden removal of location data was adopted without explanation, violating procedural requirements, and that it infringes on lawyers’ First Amendment rights to advise and seek prospective clients.
Practical consequences for attorneys
Since the policy took effect, attorneys report long hold times, abrupt hang‑ups, and a general lack of information when calling ICE’s Detention and Removal Information Line. Some have tried to use an ICE program that schedules legal calls, but only a small percentage of detention centers participate, further hampering access to counsel.
Legal experts warn that the inability to locate detainees could lead to delayed or missed court filings, potentially resulting in more rapid removals without adequate judicial review.
What’s next?
The plaintiffs are asking a federal judge in Boston to issue an injunction that would require ICE to restore location information to the online system and to cease any instructions to staff that prohibit sharing detainee whereabouts. The case adds to a growing docket of challenges to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement strategies.
Observers note that the lawsuit underscores a broader tension between the administration’s emphasis on swift deportations and the constitutional protections afforded to non‑citizens and their legal representatives.
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
