ICE Has Script to Refuse Help to People Looking for Missing Loved Ones

Since September, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has kept tens of thousands of people with final deportation orders out of its public detainee database, making it harder for families and lawyers to locate them. On November 11, 2026, reports described how the policy affected University of San Francisco professor Ann Lawani, detained in California on September 16 and later moved to Louisiana.