Locate someone in ICE custody
If you are trying to locate someone who you believe might be ICE custody (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) because they were picked up by immigration officials or because they were taken into state custody/criminal custody and ICE issued a hold/retainer, you can try to find them in the online system.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: It takes up to 48 hours for people taken into ICE custody to be processed and show-up in their system. If the person you are looking for was just taken into custody today then they are probably not going to appear in the online locator. You could try calling local facilities or the local ERO but it is unlikely that you will be able to find out any information until they are processed.
ICE Online Detainee Locator System
This tool is available on the official ICE website at https://locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search
To search for someone you will need:
Their A# and Country of Birth;
or
Their full legal name, country of birth, and birth date.
Searching by name can be difficult and if you are having trouble finding the person you are looking for you should try alternative spellings of their name, switching the order of multiple last names or try searching for them using only one of their last names.
To find the ICE Field Office that would be handling their case (based on their location) you can check https://www.ice.gov/contact/field-offices?office=16
This will not have information about the status of any case in Immigration Court or any appeal. For information about an Immigration Court case or an Appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals you should use the 24/7 automated case status phone number 1-800-898-7180 or the online automated case status system website at https://acis.eoir.justice.gov .
You will need to know the A# to check the case status by either of these methods.
ICE DETENTION FACILITIES
To find information about an ICE detention facility such as contact information, directions, visitation schedule/procedures, or how to put money on someone’s account (so they can make phone calls or buy food) find the facility on this page https://www.ice.gov/detention-facilities
Attorneys Can Contact Deportation Office
To ascertain the identity of your client’s Deportation Officer, contact the New York City Field Office by emailing NYCDetaineeInquiry@ice.dhs.gov or by calling (212) 863-3579. This is assuming the person is from NY because that is the area this website serves. If you are contacting ICE about a client who is not from the NY area then you should find the proper office for that location and their contact information from the ICE website https://www.ice.gov/contact/field-offices?office=16.
PLEASE NOTE: ICE will only speak with a licensed attorney who has a Form G-28, Entry of Appearance of Attorney of Record, on file. Otherwise they will not disclose any information or even confirm whether the person is in custody.
Federal Bureau of Prisons
If you cannot find the person after multiple searches then you might want to search the Federal Bureau of Prisons site as they might be held by a different agency of the Federal Government on a non-immigration matter.