U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) no longer lists detained individuals with final removal orders in its online database.
According to The Associated Press, starting on Sept. 15, detainees with removal orders stopped appearing in the government’s online locator system, which was first put in place by the Obama administration.
“As we understand it, the administration changed their policy and as reported through people who didn't want to say on record, but people who were apparently with the administration,” said Frederick Carroll, the legal director at ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties.
The administration justifies this, he said, by saying that these individuals have already received due process and have final orders of removal, so there was nothing left to do.
“But that couldn't be further from the truth,” Carroll said. “In fact, due process means fundamentally the ability to challenge a judge's order. And in this case, even an order of removal from an immigration judge is not the final period on the case.”
He said the government is looking to scare people into hiding and limit their access to those who could help them, such as lawyers and families.
In a statement, ICE said it makes custody determinations based on bed space and all detainees have access to phones to contact families and lawyers.
“Illegal aliens in detention with final orders of removal are being prioritized for removal from the United States,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement. “Despite a historic number of injunctions, (Department of Homeland Security) is working rapidly and overtime to remove these aliens from detention centers to their final destination — home.”
Immigration lawyers say their recently detained clients have not appeared on the detainee locator system.
On Oct. 17, Hằng Huỳnh Đỗ was detained on her way to work at Peacock Nails in Lemon Grove. As of Monday, she still did not appear on the online detainee locator system.
“This is really consistent with the pattern of this administration of creating this climate of fear, of uncertainty,” said Ian Seruelo, an immigration attorney and chair of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium. He does not represent Đỗ.
Over the past week, Seruelo has had trouble locating his detained clients.
“We didn't get any information from the detention facility. All they can say is that this person is not in the facility right now,” he said. “And I said, ‘Can you give me more information?’ They said, ‘No.’ So it's really very, you know, concerning.”
He was finally able to locate one of his clients, who is currently being held in Mississippi.
With Đỗ’s case, ICE said she violated the conditions of her visa and has a final order of removal issued in absentia last year. But without knowing where she’s being held, the ACLU said that makes it hard to file for habeas corpus relief. A habeas lawsuit must generally be filed with the court where the person is located.
ICE said detainees may not show up on the locator system for several reasons, including at the person’s request, because of a filing they’ve made, or if they are being transported.
This comes on the heels of a surge in immigration enforcement in the final stretches of the midterm election cycle. Immigrant rights activists have noted an increase in ICE activities in the county.
On Sunday, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Barrio Logan held a Eucharistic procession to the ballot box. The Rev. Scott Santarosa said it’s to support the immigrant community and send a message that voting is sacred.
“Voting is sacred because it's the way we form our society using our consciences,” he said. “So we really are trying to make that connection in a time where I think some people are doubting the integrity of our system or even maybe denigrating how sacred democracy is.”
Brenda Morales, a parishioner at the church and a member of Faith in Action, a grassroots organization that helps immigrants, said she felt a duty to join the procession to support the community.
“I know we see it on social media, the news. We hear it, she said. “And I think I just feel a big responsibility to be here for them, especially with all the families being separated, all the kids, seeing literally their parents getting taken, not understanding.”
As for the enforcement surge, Carroll said there isn’t much that activists, lawyers or community organizations can do, other than react, so it’s important that people know their rights.
“So if people know their rights in advance, that is to say, ‘No.’ That they don't have to open the door,” he said. “If someone does not provide them a legitimate judicial warrant signed by a judge, they don't have to let people into their home.”
The ACLU provides these resources for immigrants to know their rights on its website.
