ICE Detainee Facility Transfers: Rules, Tracking, and Court Impact

When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement moves someone from one detention site to another, the move can happen with little warning and no formal notice to the family. ICE detainee facility transfers are governed by internal agency policy rather than by rights the detainee can enforce in court, which means the practical priorities for anyone on the outside are locating the person, protecting their medications and legal papers, and deciding whether to move the immigration court case to follow them.¹

Why ICE Moves People Between Facilities

Bed space drives most transfers. When a facility hits its contracted occupancy limit, ICE moves people to locations with open beds, and overcrowding at a site whose staffing cannot safely handle the population produces the same result.

Medical needs prompt a transfer when someone requires care the current facility cannot provide, whether that is a chronic condition, a psychiatric emergency, or a sudden illness. ICE Health Service Corps staff evaluate whether the current site can meet an individual’s needs and recommend a move if it cannot.²

Security concerns inside a facility can justify a move if someone is considered a risk to staff or other detainees. And a jurisdictional shift, such as entering the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service for criminal proceedings, will produce a transfer that reflects the change in legal status.³

The Internal Limits on Transfers

ICE Policy Directive 11022.1 tells officers not to transfer someone when documentation shows any of the following exist within the same ICE field office area:

Immediate family
An attorney of record who has filed a Form G-28
Pending removal proceedings already underway in that jurisdiction
A granted bond or a scheduled bond hearing

When ICE decides a transfer is necessary despite these factors, approval must come from at least the Assistant Field Office Director level, and the reasons must be documented in the individual’s file.¹

The policy itself states it “is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any party.” Practitioners who work in immigration detention have reported that ICE does not always follow this guidance in practice, and the gap between the written policy and what happens on the ground is one of the most frustrating features of the system for attorneys and families.

How to Find Someone After a Transfer

The ICE Online Detainee Locator System at locator.ice.gov is the fastest public tool for tracking a transferred person. Two search methods are available.⁴

The most reliable search uses the person’s Alien Registration Number, a unique nine-digit identifier. If the number has fewer than nine digits, add zeros at the front. You also select the country of birth from a drop-down.

Without the A-Number, you can search by first and last name plus country of birth. The name must match exactly, hyphens included. A search for “John Doe” will not return “Jon Doe” or “John Doe-Smith.”

Results show the current facility and its contact information for anyone with a status of “In Custody,” or indicate that the person is no longer in ICE custody. The system is supposed to reflect a new location within eight hours of arrival, but updates do not always happen on schedule. If the locator returns nothing for someone you believe is detained, try again after 24 hours.

Notification to the Attorney

Under the 2011 Performance-Based National Detention Standards, ICE must notify an attorney of record as soon as practicable and no later than 24 hours after the detainee arrives at the new facility.⁵ This applies only when a Form G-28 is already on file. As of May 2025, legal representatives who use the ERO eFile system also receive automated email notifications when a client is transferred.⁶

For someone without a lawyer, facility staff must help the detainee make a phone call to inform someone of their choice about the move, and the receiving facility must provide its address and phone number so contact can be reestablished. These notifications sometimes arrive late or not at all, which is part of why the locator system matters as a backup.

Medication, Property, and Legal Papers in Transit

Before anyone is moved, healthcare staff at the sending facility must confirm the person is medically fit to travel and prepare a Medical Transfer Summary that includes tuberculosis screening results, current medications with dosing instructions, mental health status, known allergies, pending treatments, and recent test results. A transporting officer cannot move someone without this summary.⁵

The sending facility must pack enough prescription medication to last at least seven days. Tuberculosis medications require a 15-day supply, and HIV/AIDS medications require a 30-day supply. Any unused medication is turned over to medical staff at the receiving facility. If someone is on a medical hold, a licensed independent practitioner must evaluate and clear them before the transfer can proceed.

Personal property is another pressure point. Detainees may keep a reasonable amount, but excess property that cannot travel is generally stored at the facility up to 40 pounds or shipped to a third party.⁷ During transport itself, the only items allowed in a person’s possession are wedding rings, approved religious jewelry, eyeglasses, and receipts for property and money.⁸ Legal papers, evidence for a pending hearing, and case preparation materials are sealed away in baggage for the duration of the trip, so a multi-day transfer can effectively freeze case preparation for anyone with an upcoming hearing.

What a Transfer Does to a Pending Court Case

A facility transfer does not automatically move the immigration court case. The court that had the case before the transfer keeps it unless someone files a formal Motion to Change Venue. The person can end up physically sitting in a detention center hundreds of miles from the court that will decide their case.⁹

Either the detainee or the government attorney can file the motion. Under federal regulation, the immigration judge may grant a change of venue only for “good cause” and only after the other party has notice and a chance to respond.¹⁰ The motion must include a fixed street address where the person can receive hearing notifications, an explanation of the reasons, and supporting evidence. A change-of-address form is required if the mailing address has changed.¹¹

Timing matters. The motion should be filed at least three weeks before the next scheduled hearing so the judge can rule before that date. Until the motion is officially granted, the detainee must still appear at all hearings as originally scheduled at the old court. Video teleconference appearances from the new facility can sometimes bridge the gap, depending on the court and the judge.

The motion can also go the other way. When ICE transfers someone to a distant facility, the government attorney may file to move the case to the new jurisdiction. If that happens, the detainee’s attorney can file an opposition arguing that the transfer and venue change interfere with the right to legal representation, that traveling to the new facility is impractical, or that the court can conduct hearings remotely. Whether the judge agrees depends on the specifics.

Can You Challenge the Transfer Itself?

There is no formal appeal process for a transfer decision. Policy 11022.1 contains the no-private-right clause noted above, so the agency’s own transfer restrictions cannot be used as the basis for a legal challenge.¹

An attorney can push back in indirect ways. If a transfer violates the policy factors (attorney of record, pending proceedings, family proximity, scheduled bond hearing), the attorney can raise the issue with the local Field Office Director. Where a transfer appears retaliatory or designed to separate someone from their legal representation, attorneys have sometimes raised due process arguments in federal court through habeas petitions. These are not guaranteed remedies, but they exist for egregious circumstances.

Extra Protections for Pregnant, Postpartum, and Nursing Individuals

ICE policy generally directs that pregnant, postpartum, or nursing individuals should not be detained at all unless release is prohibited by law or exceptional circumstances exist. When someone in this category is in custody, ICE Health Service Corps must evaluate whether the facility can meet their medical and mental health needs and suggest an alternate facility if it cannot.²

During transport, restraints on pregnant individuals are prohibited except under extraordinary circumstances such as an immediate threat of harm or risk of escape, and only the least restrictive method may then be used. Restraints are never permitted on someone in active labor. Under this directive, “postpartum” covers the full year after giving birth, and “nursing” applies regardless of how much time has passed since delivery.

Filing a Claim for Lost or Damaged Property

Belongings do go missing during transfers. When properly receipted property is reported lost or damaged, supervisory staff at the facility must investigate and prepare a report documenting what happened, when and where the property was last seen, and any witness statements.⁷

A detainee who is being transferred, released, or removed must be allowed to initiate a property claim before leaving the facility. The claim is decided by an official at least one level higher than the person who investigated it, and the facility must reimburse validated losses caused by its own negligence. Facilities cannot impose an arbitrary cap on reimbursement. The result is forwarded to the address the detainee provided at intake or with the claim itself.

The practical challenge is that people who have been transferred are no longer at the facility where the loss occurred, and following up from a new location is difficult. Anyone who believes property was lost during a move should document what they had, request a copy of the property inventory receipt, and file the claim as quickly as possible.

1
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Policy 11022.1: Detainee Transfers
2
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Directive: Identification and Monitoring of Pregnant, Postpartum, or Nursing Individuals
3
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Enforcement and Removal Operations
4
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Online Detainee Locator System
5
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Performance-Based National Detention Standards 2011: Detainee Transfers
6
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ERO eFile
7
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Performance-Based National Detention Standards 2011: Funds and Personal Property
8
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Performance-Based National Detention Standards 2011: Transportation (By Land)
9
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Change of Venue
10
eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.20 – Change of Venue
11
Executive Office for Immigration Review. Immigration Court Practice Manual – Motions Before the Immigration Court