In the event a friend or family member has been detained by ICE, you need to know how to determine which facility they are being detained at.
If your family member calls you after being booked into ICE detention be SURE to get their A number (Alien Registration Number) from them as it will be needed to track their location and case.
Initially many ICE detainees are taken to a local jail or correctional facility. If you believe an individual has been detained at the County Jail, which may have a contract to hold ICE detainees, you can check online with the nearest jail to see if they are there. Explain who you are, and ask for information on what’s going on and how to visit or help.
Benton County Jail Roster – Jail is in Kennewick, WA
Franklin County Jail Roster – Jail is in Pasco, WA
Kittitas County Jail Roster – Jail is in Ellensburg, WA
Klickitat County Jail Roster – Jail is in Goldendale, WA
Walla Walla County Corrections Inmate Search – Jail is in Walla Walla, WA
Whitman County Inmate Listing – Jail is in Colfax, WA
Yakima County Jail Roster – Jail is in Yakima, WA
If your city has a municipal jail, check your city’s website for a jail roster.
After being detained/held/processed locally, ICE initially transfers most detainees to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, WA.
Northwest Immigration Rights Project has a great Guide to the Tacoma Detention Center – in English and Spanish.
Use ICE’s online detainee locator to find an adult who is in immigration custody. The online form will request the Alien Number (A#) as well as the country of birth. If you do not have the A#, you can enter the individual’s Name, Country of Birth, and Birth date, but having the A# will yield better search results. Also, the system does not give information for people under 18 years of age.
This Locator will show that a former detainee is “Not in Custody” if that person has been either released to the community or deported from the US in the past 60 days. The Locator System cannot search for records of persons under the age of 18.
Or you can call the local ICE office – Enforcement and Removal Operations Field Offices.
If ICE plans to move your family member / friend to another ICE facility in the US, you can see a listing of ICE Detention facilities.
Alternately, you can call the Executive Office for Immigration Review‘s (EOIR) hotline number at 240-314-1500 or 1-800-898-7180 (toll-free) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to get information on the individual’s case status. You must have the person’s A number to use the EOIR hotline.
Guide to the Northwest Detention Center – English
Guía al Centro de Detención Del Noroeste – Español
Visit the NWIRP website for more information
Immigration Detention 101: Information for Detainees’ Family and Friends – What to do after discovering that a non-citizen friend or family member has been put into ICE detention.
Detention Watch Network – a national coalition building power through collective advocacy, grassroots organizing, and strategic communications to abolish immigration detention in the United States.
Deportation Defense for Individuals – possible deportation defense actions that can be taken after an individual has been detained