Groups that provide legal services to immigrants filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to stop the Trump administration's new policy of hiding the locations of tens of thousands of detainees with final deportation orders.
The policy, adopted suddenly last month to expedite deportations, interferes with immigration lawyers’ rights by making it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to locate their clients, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston. It asks a judge to issue an order blocking the “unlawful and inhumane” change.
“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 four groups listed as plaintiffs. “This arbitrary new administrative change leaves hundreds of thousands of people at risk of potentially life-altering consequences without essential legal help."
The lawsuit challenges U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's decision, first reported by The Associated Press, to remove the locations of people facing final removal orders from its Online Detainee Locator System and to instruct staff not to reveal their whereabouts. As of last month, the move affected more than 16,000 of the nearly 69,000 detainees who were in ICE custody.
ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, have not publicly confirmed the change but have said they are prioritizing people with final removal orders for deportation. They have also said they are facing a “historic number of injunctions” from courts blocking their efforts. The agencies have denied that they are disappearing detainees, saying they remain free to make phone calls.
“Illegal aliens in detention have several ways to communicate with their family members and lawyers,” DHS said in a statement responding to the lawsuit. “The appropriate process due to an illegal alien with final deportation orders is removal, plain and simple.”
Since 2010, lawyers and family members have used ICE's online system to track detainees as they get moved from facility to facility through ICE's sprawling detention network.
Approximately 1.4 million people living in the U.S. are subject to final orders of removal, which means an immigration judge has ruled they should be deported and the decision has been upheld on appeal or not appealed.
Those individuals still have several options to challenge the conditions of their detention and looming deportations, including asking to reopen proceedings, seeking relief from removal to third countries and challenging violations of their rights. Federal judges have ruled thousands of times that detainees should be released or granted bond hearings.
Since the change went into effect, lawyers have been unable to find clients and potential clients and have spent “significantly more time” tracking down others, the lawsuit says. Calls to ICE, including to its Detention and Removal Information Line, “lead to long wait times on hold, sudden hang-ups, a general lack of information or no answer at all,” it says.
As a workaround, some lawyers have tried to find their clients through an ICE program that schedules legal calls, but only a small percentage of detention centers use it, the lawsuit says. The result has been delayed or missed legal filings and fewer cases taken, according to the organizations.
The lawsuit argues the change violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it was adopted without explanation and the First Amendment, which protects lawyers' ability to advise people of their legal rights and seek prospective clients.
FILE - The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website, used to locate someone in immigration detention, is displayed on Sept. 21, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Rachel Leathe, File)
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets rookie edge rusher David Bailey is dealing with a groin injury that kept him out of practice Wednesday, making his status uncertain for their game Sunday against Las Vegas.
Coach Aaron Glenn said Bailey finished the Jets' 28-25 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, but the No. 2 overall draft pick in April came to the facility Monday and Glenn said his groin issue was “lingering.”
Glenn wouldn't speculate on whether he thinks Bailey, who leads the Jets with 5 1/2 sacks, would be able to play against the Raiders.
“We'll see how he operates,” the coach said. “We'll see during the week.”
Bailey has been a bright spot for the Jets, who are off to a 2-5 start and have lost their last two games. The former Texas Tech star has 35 tackles, making him and Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher the only players since 2000 to have at least 5 1/2 sacks and 35 tackles in their first seven NFL games.
It appears the Jets will be down at least two other defensive starters when they face Las Vegas, which is on a four-game skid and will continue starting Kirk Cousins at quarterback over No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. Defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat hurt a knee in the game against the Dolphins and Glenn said he'll be evaluated on a week-to-week basis, as will edge rusher Joseph Ossai, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury.
Running back Braelon Allen was limited at practice because of an ankle injury.
Allen has been another positive for the Jets this season, rushing for more than 100 yards in two of his last three games while filling in for the injured Breece Hall. Allen ran for 104 yards on 17 carries against the Dolphins and set a career high with six receptions.
Hall, who has missed four games with a quadriceps injury, is nearing a return. He was limited Wednesday, as he was last Thursday and Friday in his first practice sessions since being injured in Week 3 at Detroit. Glenn said Allen's role won't necessarily change in the offense when Hall is back.
“I think you know that Braelon, we also gave him the ball when Breece was with us and playing,” Glenn said. “So, I've said this here numerous times: Both of those guys can carry the load. It doesn't matter which guy's in there. Whoever goes down, we have full confidence in those guys.”
Left guard Dylan Parham, who like Hall has missed the last four games, was limited with a knee injury but also appears close to returning. Jordan Meredith has replaced him on the O-line.
Offensive lineman Max Mitchell remains in the concussion protocol. Linebacker Demario Davis and defensive tackle Harrison Phillips had veteran rest days Wednesday.
In light of their issues in two-minute situations in games, Glenn said the Jets are devoting more time at practice to try to solve things.
New York has been outscored 107-6 in the final two minutes of the first half during the last two seasons under Glenn, a span of 24 games.
“When we go out there and practice, man, we see it — it's crisp and it starts to work, when it is working,” Glenn said. “Then when you get in the game, it just seems like we just stall. But I'm a firm believer in the more you do it, the more you work at it and staying positive with what we're trying to do will give us a chance to improve in that area.”
Glenn, who took over the defensive play-calling duties this season, acknowledged that doing so while also overseeing the entire team is a challenge. But he said it isn't stretching him thin.
“It's not easy,” Glenn said. “I will be up front and tell you that, but it's my job to try to make sure these things happen. And I'm going to put the stress on me to be able to do that.”
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
New York Jets running back Braelon Allen (0) carries against the Miami Dolphins in the second half of an NFL football game in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
New York Jets defensive lineman T'vondre Sweat (99) and linebacker Jamien Sherwood, right, tackle New England Patriots running back Treveyon Henderson, center, during the first half of an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New York Jets edge David Bailey (31) stands on the field before an NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
