In recent years, the situation along the southern border of the United States has been tense and unpredictable. Those who have been forced to escape their homes in Central American countries due to the prevalence of violence and poverty have flocked to the international border in the hope of crossing it and beginning a new life. However, political bickering has put them in the middle of a major debate regarding immigration. Detention centers are often used to hold immigrants while their fate is being decided.
Although there is a database that may be searched online to identify and find ICE detainees, the frequently occurring relocations and unexpected deportations can make things difficult. In many cases, the individual is not provided with any prior warning that they are going to be relocated to a different place or even deported back to their native nations.
Finding immigration inmates in the United States
If you are looking for a detainee in the U.S., the following tips may help:
- Use the detainee’s name, birthdate, and country of origin to search the ICE database
- Get in touch with an ICE field office for help – this is easier if you are related to the person you are trying to find
- Look at the inmate databases of prisons in the local area of the entry point
- Try using different variations of spellings for the individual name
If you identify the detention center that they are at, give them a call to check if the person you are looking for is still there, as detainees are moved very frequently.
If a person is detained by ICE, there should be a deportation officer working on their case from the moment they are taken into custody. This individual is essential to tracking down the detainee and finding out more about his or her status, upcoming hearings, and the assistance that you might be able to provide.
If you are having problems locating a person, it will be difficult to discover whether or not that person was deported because records of deportation are considered to be civil processes rather than public records. It is possible that a private investigator or immigration attorney may gain access for you. The Freedom of Information Act can be used to get some documents that were established after 1951 by submitting a request to US Citizenship and Immigration Services; however, the vast majority of these records pertain to genealogical research.
Finding a minor
Because of the administration’s strategy of separating families, children have been taken away from their parents, even if they are too young to respond to questions about their own names or the names of their parents. This makes any search more difficult. At least 2,600 children were impacted by this situation, and the government recognized that it had not adequately identified the children’s parents in order to facilitate timely reunions between the children and their families. Because they are not included in the databases, detainees who are younger than 18 years old will be more difficult to locate.
A brief look at the immigration process
When ICE is called to pick up an individual who is being held for deportation, they have a maximum of 48 hours to do so. This is the time that elapses after an individual has been apprehended but before their custody is handed over to federal immigration agents. Following the conclusion of the hearing, a determination will be made regarding the immigrant’s eligibility for release on bond as well as his or her criminal background, if any. The hearing will be set as soon as possible. When there is a significant backlog at the courthouse, the schedule for these proceedings may take a very long time. It is common practice to offer an undocumented immigrant the option to post bail and remain free in the community pending the outcome of their next court hearing if the immigrant is employed, has family members already living in the nation, or both. Those who are denied the ability to post bond may be subject to additional criminal charges or may be detained until ICE agents are available to deport them.
What are the avenues for legal immigration to the United States?
It is difficult to obtain authorization to remain in the United States permanently; as a result, many people enter the country on temporary visas, such as tourist or student visas, and then remain here illegally.
Legal immigration to the United States can be accomplished through a variety of channels if one abides by the rules. These channels include:
- Making an application while still residing in another country;
- To live with family members who are already here
- By being sponsored for work purposes
- Applying for refugee status from the United Nations
- Applying for a green card, which is renewed every ten years
The selection process for legal immigration is based on priorities, such as giving preference to individuals of a high caliber who are influential in disciplines such as the arts, business, technology, medicine, and other related fields. Workers with advanced degrees or specialized training come in second, followed by individuals in the religious and diplomatic fields, and then those prepared to spend between $500,000 and $1 million in enterprises that employ at least 10 workers in the United States of America come in last.
Every year, a relatively limited number of people—roughly 5,000—from nations that have not made large contributions to immigration to the United States in recent years are given the opportunity to apply for diversity visas.
The larger immigration centers
We can’t list all of the places where detainees can be held – there are more than 950 of them. However, here are a few of the larger ones on the southern border that may be useful as a starting point for your search:
- Baptist Children’s Center
- Central Texas Detention Facility
- Florence Correctional Center
- Guadalupe city jail and county detention center
- Bernalillo County Detention Center
- Karnes Correctional and Residential centers
- Rolling Plains Detention Center
- South Texas Family Residential center
- Harlingen Field Office
- Limestone County Detention Center
If you need help locating an immigration inmate in the US, we can help. We offer free inmate information. Submit the locator form to receive free, confidential inmate and bail information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or call for more information. Information is available in both English and Spanish.