ICE commonly transfers people in its custody from one detention center to another, often relocating them to different parts of the country. Recently, ICE has made high-profile arrests, including that of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürkthat, that have led individuals detained in the northeast to be quickly transferred to detention facilities in Louisiana.
In 2012, ICE issued a policy to establish protocols for ICE officers to follow when transferring individuals. However, it is unclear whether the agency updated its policy or whether the agency even follows its own protocols.
On May 14, 2025, the American Immigration Council and the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act to get more information about this issue. The lawsuit follows a request the Council and RMIAN filed with ICE on February 7 seeking:
Agency updates in the implementation of the ICE transfers policy, including copies of the forms used by ICE during transfers;
- The data that field office directors were required to maintain under the policy; and
- Records from select field offices about transfers to better understand why ICE transferred people out of these places.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Colorado.
Detention transfers cause major disruptions to the lives of people in detention. All too often, these transfers remove people out of locations where they have family members, attorneys, and support networks to places that lack these resources. The records will help provide further information about why transfers occur and hold the agency accountable for following their own protocols.
