{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://rivas.house.gov/media/press-releases/congresswomen-luz-rivas-veronica-escobar-lead-45-colleagues-demanding-ice", "Congresswomen Luz Rivas, Veronica Escobar Lead 45 Colleagues in Demanding ICE Restore Transparency in Detainee Locator System", "2026-09-30", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "CA", "Luz M. Rivas", "R000620", "rivas.house.gov", "rivas", "https://rivas.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "LOS ANGELES \u2013 Congresswoman Luz Rivas (CA-29) and Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) led 45 of their colleagues in urging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director David Venturella to restore detainee details to the Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS). The Members\u2019 letter comes after a disturbing report from the Associated Press revealed that ICE began removing individuals with final orders of removal from ODLS. ODLS allows family members, legal representatives, and members of the public to locate individuals detained by ICE.\n\n\u201cThis is a wholly unprecedented move by the United States government to impede both access and legal representation for people in federal custody,\u201d the Members wrote. \u201cWe urge ICE to restore ODLS location information for all individuals with final removal orders who remain in ICE custody and to provide Congress with the justification underlying this change. The federal government should not be denying any individual access to legal counsel or shielding their whereabouts from loved ones.\u201d\n\nICE has not publicly announced this change in policy and has not communicated to detainees\u2019 families or legal representation where detainees are currently held who have disappeared from ODLS.\n\nThe Members continued: \u201cThe consequences of this change extend beyond public transparency. Immigration attorneys have reported losing track of clients after they disappeared from ODLS, while family members are uncertain whether their loved ones were transferred to another facility or removed from the United States completely. We urge ICE to rescind this policy immediately and restore ODLS location information for all individuals with final orders of removal who remain in ICE custody. ICE should ensure that detainees remain locatable to their families and legal representatives instead of trying to hide these individuals\u2019 whereabouts.\u201d\n\nA full copy of the letter can be found here.\n\nThe Members\u2019 letter is signed by Representatives Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Shontel Brown (OH-11), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Gilbert Cisneros (CA-31), Luis Correa (CA-46), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Lois Frankel (Fl-22), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), John Garamendi (CA-08), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Henry Johnson (GA-04), William Keating (MA-09), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Analilia Mejia (NJ-11), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Eleanor Norton (DC-At Large), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Emily Randall (WA-06), Pat Ryan (NY-18), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Adam Smith (WA-09), Darren Soto (FL-09), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Norma Torres (CA-35), Derek Tran (CA-45), Gabe Vasquez (NM-2), Veasy Marc (TX-33), Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez (NY-7), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-15), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24).\n\nBackground:\n\nOn September 21, 2026, the Associated Press reported that ICE began removing individuals with final orders of removal from ODLS on September 15, 2026. This change in policy was not publicly announced, and was not communicated to detainees\u2019 families or legal representation. The Washington Post also reported that ICE\u2019s new policy bars immigration officials from sharing information with their attorneys or relatives by phone.", 1, "2026-10-01T11:23:28Z", "2026-10-01T11:25:15Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://rivas.house.gov/media/press-releases/congresswomen-luz-rivas-veronica-escobar-lead-45-colleagues-demanding-ice"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8125640451908112, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}