What should I do if ICE detains a family member?

Locate the person through ICE's online detainee locator using their A-number or biographic details, then get counsel moving on release: many detainees are eligible for a bond hearing before an immigration judge under 8 U.S.C. § 1226. Tell the detained person to sign nothing they do not understand.

Speed matters, and the first steps are mechanical. Find the person through ICE's online detainee locator using the nine-digit A-number if known, or name and country of birth; detainees are frequently transferred, so check repeatedly. Retain counsel or contact a nonprofit legal services provider from the Department of Justice's list of qualified representatives — in immigration proceedings there is a right to counsel, but at no government expense, under 8 U.S.C. § 1362. Release is the early battle: many detainees may seek bond from ICE or a custody hearing before an immigration judge under 8 U.S.C. § 1226, where family ties, steady work, and community roots are the evidence, though certain criminal grounds trigger mandatory detention under section 1226(c). Warn the detained person to sign nothing — a stipulated removal or voluntary departure form can waive the entire case. Then gather the record counsel will need: immigration history, criminal dispositions, and proof of family hardship and residence.

Authority: 8 U.S.C. § 1226