How ICE Detentions Work: Custody, Bonds, and Release

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement takes someone into custody, that person enters a civil holding system built around their immigration case, not a criminal sentence. Understanding how ICE detention works comes down to four things: why the person is being held, how long the government can hold them, what rights they have inside, and what paths exist to get them out. The rules sit across several federal statutes and one important Supreme Court decision, and they treat people very differently depending on their criminal history and how they entered the country.

Who ICE Must Hold and Who It Can Release

Federal law splits detention into two categories. Mandatory detention applies to people who are deportable because of certain criminal convictions, including offenses punishable by at least one year in prison, drug crimes, firearms offenses, and certain national security charges. Once someone falls into that category, ICE must hold them throughout their proceedings, and there’s no automatic right to a bond hearing.¹

Everyone else falls under discretionary detention. ICE can still arrest and hold people it considers a flight risk or a public safety concern, but those individuals are generally eligible for release on bond or under other conditions. People who arrive at a port of entry without valid documents face a separate track called expedited removal, which can bypass a full hearing before an immigration judge.¹

Most ICE detention beds are in a mix of federally run processing centers, privately operated contract facilities, and county jails that rent space to the agency. County jail placements often put detainees far from their attorneys and families, which matters when a case can run for months.

How Long ICE Can Hold Someone

Once an immigration judge or the agency issues a final removal order, ICE has 90 days to carry out the deportation. Detention is mandatory during that window while the agency arranges travel documents and transportation.²

Not every removal happens in 90 days. Some countries won’t issue travel documents. The statute lets ICE keep holding people with criminal grounds for removal or those it considers dangerous or likely to flee, and the clock can be extended when a person refuses to cooperate with obtaining travel documents.²

The Supreme Court set a constitutional ceiling on that authority. In Zadvydas v. Davis, the Court held that immigration detention cannot be indefinite and treated six months as the presumptively reasonable limit. After six months, if the detained person can show there’s no realistic prospect of removal in the foreseeable future, the government must either justify continued detention with evidence or release the person under supervised conditions.³

Release after the removal period usually comes with a supervision order: periodic check-ins with an ICE officer, restrictions on travel and activities, and a continuing duty to cooperate with removal efforts if circumstances change.²

Finding Someone in ICE Custody

The first hurdle for families is often just locating the person. ICE runs the Online Detainee Locator System at locator.ice.gov. You can search by the person’s Alien Registration Number (A-Number) or by full name, date of birth, and country of birth.⁴

The A-Number is a seven-, eight-, or nine-digit identifier assigned by the Department of Homeland Security and appears on documents like a Notice to Appear or a work authorization card. If the number is shorter than nine digits, pad it with a zero after the “A” when searching.⁵

Two limits are worth knowing. The locator does not track anyone under 18; unaccompanied minors go to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a separate agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. And when someone is being transferred between facilities, the record may not update for a day or more.⁴

Rights Inside Detention

Immigration detention is civil, not criminal, and that distinction drives one central rule: the government does not provide a free attorney. The Sixth Amendment right to appointed counsel applies only in criminal prosecutions. A detained person can hire a lawyer at their own expense, and the facility must give them access to phones, legal reference materials, and private meeting space to work with an attorney or an accredited representative.⁶

Medical Care

ICE detention standards require every facility to provide medical, dental, and mental health care, including emergency services. New arrivals must receive an initial health screening within 12 hours, and chronic conditions, mental health needs, and dental problems are supposed to be handled through ongoing care plans.⁶

Visits

General visitation must be available on weekends and holidays, with each visit lasting at least 30 minutes, and all adult visitors need photo ID. Attorney visits run on a more generous schedule of at least eight hours per day on weekdays and four hours per day on weekends and holidays, seven days a week. Legal visits are confidential and cannot be monitored or cut short for routine facility counts. Detainees also have the right to contact consular officials from their home country, and those visits get the same privacy protections as attorney visits.⁷

Filing Complaints

Detainees can file formal grievances if conditions fall short of standards. Facilities must maintain a written process and try to resolve complaints informally first. Medical grievances must reach the health authority within 24 hours and get a written response within five working days. Emergency grievances are expedited. Every grievance includes at least one level of appeal reviewed by someone not involved in the original decision.⁸

When the facility’s internal process doesn’t resolve the issue, or if the complaint involves staff misconduct or abuse, detainees can contact the DHS Office of Inspector General directly at 800-323-8603. Retaliation against anyone who files a grievance or contacts the Inspector General is prohibited.⁸

Asylum Claims from Detention

People placed in expedited removal who tell a border officer they fear returning home are referred for a credible fear interview with an asylum officer. DHS can keep them detained through the process. Before the interview, the person gets an orientation, a list of free or low-cost legal services, and at least four hours to consult with an attorney or prepare.⁹

A finding of credible fear leads USCIS to either schedule a full asylum merits interview or issue a Notice to Appear before an immigration judge, moving the person into standard removal proceedings where they can formally apply for asylum. A negative finding can be reviewed by an immigration judge on request. Without that review, or if the judge upholds the negative finding, ICE can proceed with removal.⁹

Paths Out of Custody

For people not subject to mandatory detention, three main paths lead out: an immigration bond, humanitarian parole, or an alternatives-to-detention program.

Immigration Bond

An immigration bond works like criminal bail. It’s money posted as a guarantee that the person will show up for future hearings. Either an ICE officer or an immigration judge sets the amount. The statutory minimum is $1,500, and most bonds land between $5,000 and $20,000, though they can go much higher.¹

The person who posts the bond is called an obligor. The obligor must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident and must produce documents proving that status: a U.S. passport, birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or REAL ID-compliant driver’s license for citizens, or a green card for permanent residents. The obligor also needs to furnish a Social Security number or taxpayer identification number, which ICE uses for interest payments and IRS reporting.¹⁰

Obligors who can’t raise the full amount in cash can work with a surety bond company, which posts the bond in exchange for a nonrefundable fee that’s typically a percentage of the bond amount. ICE maintains a list of approved surety companies through the U.S. Treasury.¹⁰

Humanitarian Parole

People classified as “arriving aliens,” meaning those encountered at the border rather than already inside the country, generally aren’t eligible for bond. Release for this group runs through humanitarian parole, which requires a sponsor who can provide housing and financial support. The sponsor typically submits tax returns, pay stubs, and bank statements to prove they can support the person, and a written request must argue that the individual isn’t a flight risk or danger.

Alternatives to Detention

ICE’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) lets some people leave physical custody while being monitored electronically. Adults 18 and older in removal proceedings or subject to a final removal order may qualify, based on factors like criminal history, community ties, caregiver responsibilities, and medical needs.¹¹

The program uses three monitoring technologies. SmartLINK is a smartphone app that verifies identity through facial comparison and collects a GPS location at check-in. Body-worn GPS devices such as ankle or wrist monitors track location continuously, though fewer than 10 percent of participants wore one as of late 2024. Telephonic reporting uses a biometric voiceprint to verify identity during scheduled phone check-ins. Participants without a personal smartphone are issued one. The daily cost runs less than $4.20 per participant.¹¹

Challenging a Bond That’s Too High

If ICE sets a bond that feels unreachable, or refuses to grant one at all, the detained person can request a bond redetermination hearing before an immigration judge. The request goes to the immigration court with jurisdiction over the place of detention and can be made orally, in writing, or by phone at the judge’s discretion.¹²

The judge conducts an independent review and can lower the bond, keep it, raise it, or order detention without bond. After that first redetermination, a second hearing requires showing that circumstances have materially changed. Simply disagreeing with the outcome isn’t enough. Either side can appeal the judge’s bond decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals.¹²

People subject to mandatory detention aren’t shut out entirely, but the standard is steep. They must show that the government is substantially unlikely to prevail on the charge of removability that triggered mandatory custody.

Posting the Bond

ICE now processes most bonds electronically through a system called CeBonds (Cash Electronic Bonds), which accepts Fedwire or ACH bank transfers. The system requires registration and collects the obligor’s Social Security number for IRS interest reporting.¹⁰

Obligors can also pay in person at an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office, though the payment itself still runs through banking channels. Bond hours at ICE offices are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time, excluding federal holidays.¹⁰

Once payment clears, the field office notifies the detention facility to begin the discharge process. The obligor receives Form I-305, the official bond receipt. Keep it. You’ll need it to reclaim the bond money after the case ends. Release itself can take several hours depending on the facility, so arrange transportation in advance. The person leaves with their belongings and paperwork listing future court dates.¹³

After Release

Getting out of detention starts a compliance period, not a finish line. A single missed step can undo everything.

Every Hearing, No Exceptions

The most important obligation is showing up to every immigration court hearing. If a person fails to appear after receiving proper written notice, the immigration judge can order removal in absentia, meaning deportation without a hearing on the merits. Reversing that order is difficult. A motion to reopen based on exceptional circumstances must be filed within 180 days. The only path to reopen without a time limit is proving that proper notice was never received or that the person was in government custody at the time.¹⁴

Address Changes: Two Filings, Not One

Noncitizens must report any change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving. That’s a longstanding requirement that applies to nearly every noncitizen regardless of case status.¹⁵

People with a pending immigration court case have a second, separate duty: file Form EOIR-33 with the immigration court within five business days of moving. Filing with one agency does not satisfy the other. If the court sends a hearing notice to your outdated address because you skipped the EOIR-33, that still counts as proper notice, and a missed hearing can produce an in absentia removal order.¹⁶

Getting the Bond Money Back

The bond is refundable, but only after the immigration case fully concludes and the person has complied with all obligations. When the bond is cancelled, ICE sends Form I-391 (Notice of Immigration Bond Cancelled) to the obligor’s address on file. The obligor mails Form I-391 along with the original Form I-305 receipt to the Debt Management Center in Williston, Vermont. Refunds typically take about four weeks and include any interest earned while the government held the funds.

Lost the I-305? The obligor completes Form I-395 (Affidavit in Lieu of Lost Receipt), has it notarized, and submits it in place of the receipt.¹³ Interest earned on the bond is taxable federal income, and ICE issues a 1099-INT to the obligor for the year the bond is cancelled. Anyone who used a surety bond company instead of posting cash doesn’t get a refund; the fee paid to the bonding company is nonrefundable regardless of how the case turns out.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1226 – Apprehension and Detention of Aliens
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1231 – Detention and Removal of Aliens Ordered Removed
3
Justia. Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001)
4
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Online Detainee Locator System
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigrant Fee Payment – Tips on Finding Your A-Number and DOS Case ID
6
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. National Detention Standards Revised 2019 – Medical Care
7
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE DRO Detention Standard – Visitation
8
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Performance-Based National Detention Standards 2011 – Grievance System
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Questions and Answers – Credible Fear Screening
10
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Post a Bond
11
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Alternatives to Detention
12
eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.19 – Custody/Bond
13
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Affidavit in Lieu of Lost Receipt of United States ICE for Collateral Accepted as Security
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1229a – Removal Proceedings
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AR-11, Aliens Change of Address Card
16
EOIR Respondent Access. Change of Address Form (EOIR-33/IC)