The first time I opened the “United States Disappeared Tracker” I felt like someone punched me hard in the solar plexus and I couldn’t catch my breath. The word “Disappeared” should never be preceded by the words “United States.” After I could breathe again, I sat in my office and sobbed for several minutes. For the disappeared but also for my country. Then I got to work.
The Tracker is an online site described by its creator, Danielle Harlow, as a dashboard that “visualizes persons impacted by the Trump Administration’s mass deportation regime, as implemented by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), beginning January 20, 2025.” It includes only those “validated by published public sources.”
Danielle Harlow has previous experience creating online dashboard trackers. She saw a need and took it upon herself. She maintains the tracker along with 50 or so volunteers. You can read an interview with her here. God bless them!
How Many?
The “Total Persons Disappeared by ICE” shown in the Tracker on 5/22/25 is 4,066.
But we don’t know the real number. Again, because the figure is based only on what’s been reported in the media or obtained publicly.
Who Are They?
Visualize a map of the U.S. with color-coded dots that represent persons in the following categories: Arrested by FBI, Deported, Died in Custody, Died in ICE Custody, Expelled, In CBP* Custody, In ICE Custody, In ICE Sponsored Foster Care, Indicted, Released, Released on Bail, and Self-Deported.
They are from at least 45 countries of origin, alphabetically from Algeria to Wales. There are 9 from the U.S.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons acknowledged 9 detainees have died in ICE custody with assurances in a recent congressional hearing that each will be thoroughly investigated.
Many are listed in a spreadsheet by name along with status, country they are from, facility where they are held, where the disappeared person resided, etc.
But there are many categorized as “unknown” and “unidentified people,” including children.
Under the pretext of benevolent “welfare checks,” an ICE internal document describes tracking down children who entered the U.S. alone for deportation. Some American-born children have also been deported. The DHS* website emphatically states: “DHS is NOT Deporting American Children.” They doth protest too much.
Where are They?
There are 53 different facilities cited. County jails, correctional facilities, Dulles Airport Customs, etc. This includes 269 persons in the notorious Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador. But the largest category is “unknown.”
See a pattern here?
So much that’s unknown! We don’t know how many, who they are or where they are.
The Tracker includes some disturbing “knowns” for sure. But equally, if not more, disturbing are the “unknowns.”
Three Examples
Left to right: Vasquez, Pohl & Lepere, “Wife of Coast Guardsman”
It was difficult to select 3 examples of the disappeared. Each and every one of their names should be known. None should be forgotten. I chose these 3 as representative of cruelty, unlawfulness, and the sheer stupidity of this mass deportation regime.
1/ Ricardo Prada Vasquez , is a 32 year old Venezuelan immigrant who worked as a delivery driver in Detroit. He picked up a McDonalds order for delivery but made a wrong turn onto the Ambassador Bridge that leads to Canada (a common mistake in the border city). He tried to re-enter the U.S., was detained and ordered deported. He was in a Texas detention facility on March 15 when he told a friend in Chicago he expected to be repatriated to Venezuela. That evening, he was put on a plane to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador and has not been seen or heard from since.
He’s one of 269 immigrants denied due process rights guaranteed to every resident under the Constitution. All were unlawfully sent to a prison known for torture and the harshest conditions. The vast majority of the 269 have no criminal history.
Candidate Trump promised to deport criminals. No one voted for this!
2/ Charlotte Pohl (age 19) and Maria Lepere (age 18), both from Germany, were on a 9-month round the globe site-seeing trip with prior authorization to visit the U.S. They arrived in Honolulu to enjoy Hawaii before heading to California. They were detained, interrogated for hours, strip searched, handcuffed and sent to a detention center overnight. The offense was not having pre-booked accommodations. They were deported to Japan at their request.
Unfortunately, Customs and Border Protection hassling and even detaining foreign visitors who are authorized to enter the country has now become a thing.
Aloha and Greetings from the 50th state!
Embarrassing for normally hospitable Americans, for sure. But also, how frigging stupid! Hawaii’s tourist industry accounts for 25% of its economy.
As a consequence, the German government updated its travel advisory explicitly warning “entry to the United States is at the sole discretion of the U.S. border authorities.”
Welcome to Trump’s America!
3/ The wife of an active-duty Coast Guardsman was arrested due to an expired work visa on the U.S. Naval Air Station in Key West, Florida on 3/24/25. She apparently remains in ICE custody.
Why arrest the spouse of a servicemember for a civil, not criminal, offense? The answer is ICE quotas which were ramped up after Trump took office. Nevermind she’s a military spouse, she was easy pickings!
Aggressive quotas may also explain the lack of uniforms, non-government vehicle use and “agents” hiding behind masks. Bottom line, too little is known about the activity of ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
More Congressional oversight is needed to hard check the deliberate obfuscating, court-defying stunts and blatantly unconstitutional actions of the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Kristi Noem and this President.
Take Action Against ICE Detention Centers & Contractors
ICE cannot operate without contracted partners including many large corporations.
Protest Avelo Airlines! One contracted party in the disappearing is Avelo Airlines, a small commercial passenger airline that’s contracted to transport ICE detainees to U.S. and foreign facilities.
Join an Avelo protest in these states – California, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, P.R., South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington.
Call Congress Members! Demand they speak up about constitutional rights of due process and the unlawful imprisonment of immigrants. Urge them to conduct oversight, including site visits, to ICE facilities (listed here).
Shut It Down! There’s a precedent for successfully shutting down an ICE detention facility in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The key was persistence and coordinated efforts. Read about it here.
Remember: Persistence is key!
Customs and Border Protection
Department of Homeland Security
That was really disturbing - as it should be! I respect you for continuing to keep your heart so open to the suffering that is going on all around us! it's hard to do sometimes.
The link to the description of how the community shut down the Berks Detention Center was inspiring and informative.
Thanks, Robin!
The 3rd picture isn’t showing up..just so you are aware.