Democrats accuse ICE of creating ‘disappearances’ on US soil

Key Takeaways

• A bipartisan group of 36 lawmakers led by Senator Elizabeth Warren has urged the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate ICE’s online detainee locator system (ODLS).
• It has been reported that the ODLS has become “increasingly unreliable” since January 2025, with allegations that some detainees are not listed or are deported before their records appear.
• The ODLS was created in 2010 to help families and attorneys locate people in ICE custody; lawmakers say failures are producing effective “disappearances.”
• The issue affects detained non‑citizens across the ICE detention network — including people without criminal records — and can block access to lawyers, family contact, and legal remedies.

Allegations and call for an investigation

A group of 36 Democrats, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, has submitted a scathing letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General asking for an investigation into Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) online detainee locator system (ODLS). It has been reported that the lawmakers say the system “has grown increasingly unreliable” since January 2025 and that, allegedly, “in some cases, individuals are deported before their location is ever added to the online locator system.” DHS, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and the DHS OIG did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

What the ODLS is and how it’s failing

The ODLS was created in 2010 to allow family members, attorneys, and journalists to find people in the sprawling ICE detention network — a mix of federal facilities, local jails, military bases and privately operated centers. Before the recent administrative changes cited by lawmakers, ICE allegedly updated new arrivals in the locator within about eight hours. Lawmakers say that practice has broken down, and that rapid, opaque transfers between facilities are now common, undermining oversight and accountability.

Human impact and next steps

The effects are tangible. Families and counsel report being unable to find detained loved ones or intervene when removal proceedings move forward. The letter highlights the case of Any Lopez Belloza, a 19‑year‑old student whose arrest in Boston, swift transfer to Texas and quick deportation to Honduras left her family and newly retained attorneys unable to locate or assist her; court records reviewed by the Guardian suggest that ODLS entries were not updated to reflect her transfer. For people in removal proceedings or seeking asylum, delayed or absent entries in ODLS can mean loss of access to counsel, missed bond hearings, and sudden deportation. Lawmakers are pressing the DHS OIG to determine whether the failures are systemic and to recommend fixes; for those navigating the immigration system now, the immediate takeaway is to keep multiple lines of communication open — document arrests, retain counsel quickly, and use community organizations that track transfers — because the public locator may not be reliable.

Source: Original Article