Google Is Censoring Reviews of ICE Detention Centers
A study by a Tulane University professor suggests that Google Maps is systematically removing user reviews of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. The research indicates that most reviews collected in 2025 have been purged, limiting public access to accounts of life inside these facilities.
Why it matters
This raises concerns about corporate censorship and the erasure of public testimony regarding government-run detention facilities.
In the past year, Google Maps was deleting all the reviews for dozens of ICE jails, a new study found.
Share Copy link Share on Facebook Share on Bluesky Share on X Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Protesters gather outside Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center in Newark, N.J., in support of labor and hunger strikers inside on June 12, 2026. Photo: Neil Constantine/NurPhoto via AP While they’re not as common as reviews for cafes and dry cleaners, reviews have poured into Google Maps by the thousands for the growing network of jails operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The reviews have come from internet users sharing their often harrowing experiences in the detention facilities .
Google then purges these reviews and blocks the ability to write new ones, according to newly published research.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in