Opening up the ICE Detainee Locator System is a nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing experience for immigration lawyers like Paulina Reyes with Immigrant Defenders.
Still, it’s an integral part of her work, and she uses it to track her client, who has been transferred between Otay Mesa Detention Center, El Paso Service Processing Center, and now California City Detention Center.
Last week, when reporting by the Associated Press revealed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had removed detainees with final orders of deportation from the ICE Online Detainee Locator System, Reyes immediately went to the portal to search for her client, who was subject to such an order.
Her client no longer appeared in the locator, which made her worry. She checked her phone to see if she had missed any calls from him or any notices that ICE had emailed. She had one final option: the ERO portal available to legal representatives, which showed her client was still in ICE detention, bringing her instant relief.
This unannounced change took effect on September 15, adding another layer of difficulty for thousands of families and lawyers trying to locate individuals placed in the system. The Associated Press confirmed the change after three current and former ICE officials, who spoke anonymously, stated that they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
“It's systematic, and I think it goes beyond just a policy,” Reyes says. “This is actually enforced disappearance by a government.”