How to Get Someone Out of ICE Detention: First Steps

When ICE arrests a family member, the first two days matter more than the next two months. In that window ICE decides whether to hold the person without bond, set a bond itself or release them, and the person may be transferred to a facility hundreds of miles away. Families who want to know how to get someone out of ICE detention need to do five things quickly: find the person, read the paperwork, stop them from signing anything, identify which release route applies, and start building the evidence a judge will want to see. Here is how each step works.

Step one: find out where ICE is holding the person

ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System shows where an adult is being held. You need either the person’s A-number and country of birth, or their exact name as ICE recorded it, date of birth and country of birth. The A-number is printed on any prior immigration document, from a work permit to an old Notice to Appear. The locator is not updated instantly, does not list people under 18, and may show nothing for the first day or two. If it shows nothing, call the ICE field office for the area where the arrest happened. Write down the facility name, because it determines which immigration court will hear a bond request and which federal court would hear a habeas petition. Our detention and bond practice can usually locate a person within hours when the family has the A-number.

Step two: read the paperwork they were given

Three documents tell you most of what you need. The Notice to Appear, Form I-862, lists the charges of removability and starts the court case. The Notice of Custody Determination, Form I-286, states whether ICE will detain the person without bond, release on a bond it sets, or release on recognizance, and it contains a box to request that an immigration judge review the custody decision. That box should be checked. The warrant, Form I-200 or I-205, tells you whether the arrest was based on a new removal case or on an old removal order. Under 8 CFR 287.3, ICE is to decide within 48 hours of a warrantless arrest whether to issue the Notice to Appear and whether to keep the person in custody. If the person was arrested by local police and held on an ICE detainer, Form I-247A, the jail could hold them for up to 48 hours past their release date for ICE to take custody.

Step three: sign nothing, say little

Tell your family member, by phone through the facility, to say clearly that they want a lawyer and will not sign anything without one. Forms offered in the first days can include stipulated removal orders and voluntary departure agreements that give up the right to a hearing. Answering questions about how and when they entered the United States can create the evidence ICE uses to deny bond. There is no appointed counsel in immigration court, but the person has the right to hire one and to call one, and facilities must allow legal calls.

Step four: which route out of ICE detention applies

Not everyone in ICE custody is eligible for the same kind of release. Most people arrested inside the United States are held under INA 236(a) and can ask an immigration judge to set bond at a separate hearing, described in our post on what happens at an ICE detention bond hearing. People charged with certain criminal grounds are held under INA 236(c) without bond, and the fight becomes whether that section actually applies. People arrested at the border or treated as applicants for admission are held under INA 235(b), where release depends on ICE parole rather than a judge; as of this writing the government has extended that position to many people who entered without inspection years ago, and federal courts are divided on it. People with a prior removal order face reinstatement and may be removed quickly unless they express a fear of return. Each route has a different decision-maker, so the first legal task is to work out which one the person is in and what ICE’s own documents say about it.

Step five: build the release packet

Whether the request goes to ICE or to a judge, the evidence is similar. Start gathering:

• A letter from a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who will provide a home, with proof of their status and a lease, deed or utility bill showing the address.
• Proof of family ties: birth and marriage certificates, children’s school records, and evidence of any U.S. citizen or resident relatives.
• Proof of time in the United States and work history: tax returns, pay stubs, an employer letter.
• Certified court dispositions for every arrest, even those dismissed, since a judge who sees an arrest with no outcome will assume the worst.
• Letters from employers, clergy, teachers and neighbors, and any medical records for the detained person or dependents.
• Evidence of a path to status: a pending or approved Form I-130, a filed asylum application, or eligibility for a defense in removal proceedings.

What slows release and how to avoid it

Transfers are the most common setback; once a person is moved to another state, the court changes and the local law may be less favorable, so counsel should enter an appearance quickly to make transfer less likely. Incomplete criminal records delay hearings. Bond amounts the family cannot pay are a problem of their own, addressed in our post on how to pay an immigration bond. And because a second bond hearing generally requires changed circumstances, rushing into the first one unprepared costs more than waiting a week to do it right. Where no judge will hear bond at all, a habeas corpus petition in federal court is the remaining route, and our removal defense team handles the underlying case so that release and relief move together.

If ICE has arrested someone in your family, call us with the person’s name, date of birth and A-number, and we will start with the locator and the custody paperwork. Schedule a consultation.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by this communication.

Attorney Sena Sahin. Clear advice for individuals, families, and business owners.

Need help with this topic? See our immigration detention and bond page or schedule a consultation.