Human rights advocates have asked a United Nations panel to intervene in a new U.S. government practice that they say amounts to the “enforced disappearance” of noncitizens. The practice involves withholding the whereabouts of thousands of detainees facing deportation from families and lawyers. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed the names of detainees with final removal orders from its Online Detainee Locator System on Sept. 15. This change affects over 16,000 detainees and is an apparent effort to speed up deportations. The rights groups argue it obstructs legal counsel and devastates families. The Department of Homeland Security denied that the practice amounts to disappearance, noting detainees can still contact lawyers and relatives.