Families searching for someone in ICE detention have faced an unsettling problem: the person can disappear from the government's online locator even while still in custody. Now four legal-aid organizations are challenging that practice in federal court, saying it makes it harder for detainees to reach lawyers before deportation.
The lawsuit filed October 28 in Massachusetts, Greater Boston Legal Services v. Mullin (No. 1:26-cv-14869), targets ICE's decision to stop publicly listing many detainees who have final orders of removal. The plaintiffs want the court to temporarily block and ultimately set aside the policy. Filing the lawsuit has not suspended the policy; no judicial ruling against it was identified as of October 29.
What changed in September?
ICE's Online Detainee Locator System, known as ODLS, has helped relatives and attorneys find people in immigration custody since 2010. According to the complaint, around September 15, 2026, ICE began excluding people with administratively final removal orders from public location searches. The plaintiffs say staff were also instructed not to disclose those locations by phone. The policy was not publicly announced, they allege.
A final removal order generally means that the deportation decision is administratively final, but it does not necessarily end every legal option. Depending on the case, a person may still seek reopening, challenge detention in federal court or contest removal to a particular country. A lawyer may need to identify the person's detention facility quickly to act before a transfer or removal.
Why are four legal organizations suing?
The plaintiffs — Greater Boston Legal Services, Rian Immigrant Center, Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, and Amica Center for Immigrant Rights — say they have spent substantial time searching for existing and prospective clients and have sometimes been unable to contact them. The Florence organization says in its complaint that it could not arrange services for approximately 15% to 25% of certain referrals because of the locator restriction. That figure is a claim by one plaintiff, not an independent nationwide estimate.
The complaint asserts violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, alleging ICE gave no adequate explanation for the change; the First Amendment, because it interferes with legal communication and outreach; and the Freedom of Information Act, because the policy's details were not made public. The organizations seek a temporary stay, a ruling setting the policy aside and disclosure of the instructions behind it. These are allegations and requests, not findings that the government broke the law.
What does DHS say?
Responding to reporting about the lawsuit, DHS disputed the suggestion that people are being made unreachable. It said detainees can communicate with family and attorneys and argued that people with final deportation orders should be removed. Advocates counter that the ability to make calls is not equivalent to a reliable way for counsel or relatives to determine where a person is held, especially after transfers.
What can a family do if someone does not appear in the locator?
An empty ODLS result does not prove that someone has been released or deported. A relative or lawyer can check the spelling and A-number, try ICE's Detention Reporting and Information Line or the relevant Enforcement and Removal Operations field office, and document attempted contacts. The appropriate next legal step depends on the person's custody and court situation. Factum Immigration's guide to finding someone detained by ICE explains the search options.
Earlier coverage: ICE's September decision to remove detainees with final orders from its public locator. That report describes the policy when it began. The new October 28 lawsuit is the next stage in the dispute.