Seven people released from immigration detention are suing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The plaintiffs say the agency has routinely failed to return passports, work permits, identification documents, and personal belongings after detainees leave custody, sometimes leaving them unable to work, drive, or support their families.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington, accuses ICE of maintaining a nationwide "de facto policy" of withholding property even when the government no longer has a legitimate reason to keep it. The plaintiffs say the practice has left people unable to work or drive, facing high financial costs and, in some cases, afraid to leave their homes without identification.
The seven plaintiffs are asking the court to certify a nationwide class, order ICE to return property it has withheld and require the agency to adopt safeguards governing belongings seized from people in civil immigration detention. They say the practice violates the Fourth Amendment and federal administrative law, as well as ICE's own directives governing detainee property.
The Trump administration's sweeping mass deportation crackdown has dramatically expanded immigration arrests and detention across the United States. ICE detained more than 610,000 people since Trump returned to office as of August. About 80 percent were arrested from the U.S. interior, according to an analysis by The Marshall Project based on Deportation Data Project data.
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security as well as ICE for comment and is awaiting their responses.
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The lawsuit says the seven named plaintiffs were released without property including passports, Social Security cards, employment authorization documents, driver's licenses, cellphones, car keys, cash, clothing and, in one case, a wedding ring. Each had been out of ICE custody for at least five months while still missing property when the complaint was filed, according to the lawsuit.
One plaintiff, Vladimir Izmailov, a Ukrainian-born Russian citizen seeking asylum, was detained by ICE in November 2025 and released in April, according to the complaint. ICE returned his cellphone but not his driver's license, employment authorization document, wallet, belt, or wedding ring, the lawsuit says.
The complaint says that Izmailov sought the return of his belongings and was initially told that his documents would be mailed to an ICE officer. His Intensive Supervision Appearance Program officer later told him that ICE had responded that the property had likely been destroyed, according to the lawsuit.
"ICE refusing to return my belongings has made a horrible experience even worse," Izmailov said in a statement shared with Newsweek. "ICE detained me in terrible conditions, without proper nutrition and medical care for months. Now, I’m struggling to provide for my family because ICE still has my documents that show I am authorized to work. ICE even still has my wedding ring, which holds great sentimental value for me and cannot be replaced."
The complaint says Izmailov has been unable to obtain meaningful or stable employment without his work authorization document and that his family has been borrowing money to pay rent. He also alleges that he cannot drive because ICE did not return his driver's license and that California authorities would not issue him another license without his employment authorization document.
Plaintiffs allege ICE routinely fails to return property taken from people detained for civil immigration purposes and keeps those belongings well beyond their release. The complaint says the practice has been documented in federal court cases as well as reports from immigration attorneys and news organizations.
The suit says there are "well over 40” recent documented instances in which ICE allegedly retained government-issued documents without justification and another "well over 40” instances involving other personal property. Those figures are allegations contained in the complaint and have not been independently verified by Newsweek.
Enis Suleima Luna Ardila came to the United States seeking asylum from Colombia. The lawsuit says ICE detained Luna Ardila after a scheduled immigration check-in in December 2025 and released her in February without returning her state-issued identification, employment authorization document, Colombian passport, Social Security card, or learner’s permit.
Without those documents, Luna Ardila alleges she has had to turn down roughly five jobs, including one that would have paid twice her current wage and offered better benefits, because she could not provide proof of work authorization. Her work permit was not due to expire until 2029, according to the complaint.
An Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is a card issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that allows eligible migrants to work legally in the United States for a specified period. It is commonly known as a work permit.
Another plaintiff, Rolando Ramirez Fuentes, who came to the United States from Cuba as a child 46 years ago, alleges ICE failed to return his Social Security card and Florida driver's license after his release in April. The lawsuit says his inability to access those documents impeded his ability to find work, which prevented him from obtaining medical care for a heart condition and left him unable to afford housing. Ramirez is now homeless, according to the court filings.
Domingo Tot Quip, a Guatemalan man who worked as a dishwasher in Portland, Maine, was detained by ICE in January and deported to Guatemala despite a federal judge’s order barring his removal, according to the complaint. ICE returned him to the United States in August, the lawsuit says.
The complaint alleges ICE has yet to return much of the cash Tot Quip had when he was detained, along with his backpack, phone charger, headphones, and clothing, per the filings.
"The Fourth Amendment exists so that overzealous government agents cannot take and keep our property for no reason," Michael Perloff, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of D.C., said in a statement. "We cannot let ICE trample on this fundamental protection against abuse of power."
"ICE does not get to release people from custody and then hold their freedom hostage by keeping the documents they need to live their lives," former Attorney General of New Jersey and partner at Platkin LLP, Matt Platkin, said in a news release. "Passports, work permits and birth certificates are not ICE’s to keep indefinitely. ICE is not above the law, and it must be held accountable when it exceeds its authority."
The lawsuit argues that while ICE may have legitimate reasons to hold property during immigration detention, the Fourth Amendment requires its return once those reasons disappear and no new justification arises.
The complaint also alleges ICE is violating its own rules, which say decisions to retain documents must be based on a "clearly articulated operational need" and require people whose documents are confiscated to receive certified copies. The plaintiffs allege none of the seven received such copies.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to certify a nationwide class covering people detained for civil immigration purposes since January 20, 2025, whose belongings ICE allegedly failed to return after their release, despite having no legitimate reason to keep them.
They are also seeking two subclasses: one for documents and another for personal property.
The plaintiffs want the court to declare the alleged policy unlawful and order ICE to return the belongings it has no legal basis to keep. They are also seeking an order requiring ICE to put safeguards in place for storing detainees’ property and returning it when it is no longer needed.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Cannon and James Debens