Toolkit: Lost in the U.S. immigration detention system
This toolkit is available in Spanish here.
The U.S. immigration enforcement system is deliberately confusing and hard to navigate, especially if you are under despair and stress. This toolkit contains a broad overview of where and when people go missing within the system and guidelines on how to locate them. This is a resource intended for advocates, friends and family members of people impacted by the U.S. immigration system and does not account for attorney privileges. Please be sure to consult with legal counsel if you’re able to.
Below are some scenarios where your friend or loved one might be depending on how they interacted with immigration enforcement:
Entered the U.S. without inspection
a. Local jail
b. Federal custody
c. CBP custody
d. ICE custody
e. Country of origin
f. Released to community
Presented themselves at the border to ask for asylum
a. MPP- Remain in Mexico (except for Mexican nationals)
b. CBP Custody
c. ICE custody
d. Country of origin
e. Released to community
Was a victim of an ICE raid
a. Local jail
b. Federal custody
c. ICE custody
d. Country of origin
e. Released to community
Entered ICE custody after completing a criminal sentence
a. ICE custody
b. Country of origin
c. Released to community
Was transferred from an ICE detention facility
a. ICE custody
b. County of origin
c. Released to community
Though not comprehensive, below is a list of resources that can help locate your friend or loved one within the U.S. immigration system. Please keep in mind that the U.S. immigration system is very complicated and changes without explaining to advocates and families the consequences of such changes. Please contact local advocates or legal service providers for the most up to date information.
How to find your loved one if:
They are in ICE’s custody
a. ICE Locator
If the person is in ICE custody they are *supposed* to appear in the ICE locator 8 hours after they enter detention. However, there are patterns of systematic and deliberate neglect to update the locator- so keep in mind that it won’t always work.
i. To use the locator you’ll need the person’s A# (a unique nine-digit number assigned by the government to immigrants) and their country of birth -or- the person’s biographical information (full name, date of birth and country of origin)
Be sure to try different spellings when looking with biographical information. The system uses exact name search.
Please note that the locator doesn’t read special characters like “accents” so á is a, ñ is n, etc.
I.e. “José Luis Mora López” could be searched in multiple combinations of the name:
First: Jose Luis Last: Mora Ramirez
First: Jose Luis Last: Mora-Ramirez
First: Jose Last: Mora Ramírez or Mora-Ramirez
First: Jose Last: Mora
3. If a “zero record found” message comes up it is unfortunately inconclusive. The person could still be in a detention center and this message is a result of a system error.
b. Country of Origin Consulates
By law, ICE is required to notify consulates when a national from their country is detained. For this reason, consulates are often a valuable resource in locating people disappeared in the system.
You can refer people to the embassy of the country of birth of their loved one or to a consulate (google search by country/city).
a. Please note that consulates have varying degrees of efficiency, depending on their resources
b. Also, note that consulates will request a familiar relationship and/or permission from the detained person before providing information- so referring relatives directly to consulates is a better practice and more time-efficient
c. ICE staff (deportation officers)
Deportation Officers should have information on the whereabouts of people detained or recently transferred/released in the facilities they work in. So, if the person was already in custody before being disappeared and the ICE locator does not provide information this might be a good option.
You can identify the Deportation Officer by calling the ICE field office of the facility where your loved one was known or suspected to be detained. The field offices that govern detention facilities should be named in ICE’s facility profile, which can be searched in this locator.
a. Please note that deportation officers will request a familiar relationship and/or a waiver from the detained person before providing information- so referring relatives directly is a better practice and more time-efficient
b. *By following this step you will be in touch with ICE and they will have your information on file, when possible, please ask an attorney or advocate to do this on your behalf*
d. Commissary accounts and county jail locators
Sometimes people are removed from the locator despite remaining detained in the same facility or the locator is never updated. In these cases, it’s helpful to check the person’s commissary account or the facility’s own locator (some county jails have this on their website) on the facility where they were last known to be detained.
County jail locator
a. County jails usually have their own “inmate locator”, and they vary from jail to jail. For this reason, the best practice is to search the facility’s name on the internet along with “inmate locator”.
b. Typically, the locator asks for full name and date of birth, but might also ask for ethnicity.
Commissary
a. Largest private commissary and phone companies
i. GettingOut (Telmate)
ii. Securus
iii. GlobalTel
iv. ICSolutions
v. NCIC
vi. Connect Network
2. They are in a local or federal jail
a. You can use the Federal “Inmate Search” to find out if someone is in federal custody. You can search by the name, age and ethnicity of your friend or loved one or by number (the locator refers to the A# as INS number). Please look at the ICE Locator instructions to learn more about spelling issues in locators.
3. They are in CBP custody
a. Call your consulate (see guidelines above).
b. Generally, people should not have to stay in CBP custody for longer than 72 hours. However, families and advocates report that people have been in CBP custody for weeks or even months at a time. Still, it is good practice to first call the consulate of the country of birth of the missing person and then try steps for locating a person in ICE custody.
4. They are in US Marshals’ custody
a. If calling the appropriate consulate and/or ICE field offices does not work, it might be useful to try contacting US Marshal’s to and ask if your friend or loved one is in their custody.
b. Like CBP, the US Marshals’ does not have a locator available for people in their custody. It is good practice to start by calling offices in border states if you’re unsure where your loved one is detained.
5. They were deported or in a third country
a. If your friend or loved one does not have family or resources in their country of origin, they might seek protection in a local shelter. Here you can find a list of shelters in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Haiti.
b. You should also call the appropriate consulate to make sure that the person was removed or sent to a different country.
6. They disappeared while crossing the border
a. No More Deaths has helpful resources to support friends and families of people lost while crossing the border.
ii. Lost while in MX
b. The local Red Cross of the place where your friend or loved one was lost can also be of help in locating people lost while crossing the border.
7. Other resources
a. Community groups
i. If you have some knowledge of which state or region your loved one is detained in, but are not sure of the exact facility, you might want to reach out to local community groups that support people in detention such as members of the Freedom for Immigrants National Visitation Network and Detention Watch Network. They may have local contacts or tools to help verify an individual’s presence or absence at a local facility.
b. Legislative
i. If you live in the U.S., your Congressional representatives might be of help. Call their local offices and ask for support establishing contact with someone that was detained.