An ICE hold in jail is a written request from federal immigration authorities asking the jail to keep someone in custody for up to 48 additional hours after they would otherwise be released, so Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can come take them into federal custody. It is not a criminal charge and not a warrant signed by a judge. It is an administrative notice, formally called an immigration detainer, and it starts a short, high-stakes window in which the person and their family need to act.
How the Hold Gets Placed
The trigger is almost always booking. When someone is arrested on any criminal charge, jail staff take fingerprints and send them to the FBI for a background check. Those same prints are forwarded automatically to the Department of Homeland Security, which runs them against federal immigration databases.1Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Secure Communities The cross-check happens almost instantly, often before the first bail hearing.
If the check flags a possible lack of legal status or a prior removal order, ICE officers review the record. If they decide to pursue the case, they send a detainer to the jail. That can happen within hours of the arrest.
The 48-Hour Rule and When the Clock Starts
Federal regulations cap how long a jail can hold someone on a detainer. Under 8 CFR § 287.7, the jail may keep the person for no more than 48 hours beyond the point they would otherwise have been released, and that 48-hour count excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays.2eCFR. 8 CFR 287.7 – Detainer Provisions Under Section 287(d)(3) of the Act
The clock only starts once the person becomes eligible for release from local custody: they posted bail, finished their sentence, had the charges dropped, or were released at a hearing. Timing matters. Someone who posts bail on a Friday afternoon may sit in jail through the weekend before the 48-hour window even begins to run.
If ICE does not pick the person up within the window, the jail is supposed to release them, and holding them longer without a fresh legal basis can expose the jail to liability. Once the person walks out, the detainer expires, though ICE may still try to locate them later.
What Form I-247A Says
The detainer itself arrives at the jail as Form I-247A, “Immigration Detainer – Notice of Action.” It identifies the person by name, date of birth, and a subject identification number, and it contains checkboxes where the ICE officer must indicate the basis for probable cause that the person is removable.3U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration Detainer – Notice of Action (Form I-247A)
Those bases are:
- Ongoing removal proceedings before an immigration judge.
- A final removal order already issued.
- Biometric confirmation of identity plus federal records indicating the person lacks status or is otherwise removable.
- Statements made to an immigration officer, or other reliable evidence of removability.
The regulation requires the jail to give the person a copy of the form for the detainer to take effect. The notice explains that DHS intends to assume custody after the local case is resolved, that the jail has been asked to hold the person for up to 48 hours, and that the person should ask about release if ICE does not arrive within that window. Anyone who believes they are a U.S. citizen or a crime victim is directed to call the ICE Law Enforcement Support Center at (855) 448-6903.
Does the Jail Have To Comply?
No. An ICE detainer is a request, not a command, and because it is an administrative document rather than a judicial warrant, local jails can decide whether to honor it.4Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration Detainers
Many jurisdictions have concluded that holding someone past their release date on nothing more than an administrative request risks violating the Fourth Amendment. A federal court held in Miranda-Olivares v. Clackamas County that 8 CFR § 287.7 does not mandate detention by local law enforcement but only requests compliance, and that a county that kept a woman in jail after she posted bail on her state charges exposed itself to civil rights liability. The court said the jail was at liberty to refuse ICE’s request.
So-called sanctuary jurisdictions limit cooperation in various ways: refusing to hold people without a judicial warrant, refusing to give ICE agents access to jails, or barring local officers from asking about immigration status. Other jurisdictions go the opposite direction, signing 287(g) agreements with ICE that authorize local officers to perform specific immigration enforcement functions under federal supervision.5U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Delegation of Immigration Authority Section 287(g) Immigration and Nationality Act In 287(g) jurisdictions, detainers are almost always honored. Where the arrest happens has a lot to do with what comes next.
If ICE Takes Custody
When ICE agents arrive inside the 48-hour window, the jail transfers the person into federal custody. From there, they are typically moved to a dedicated immigration detention facility, which may be hundreds of miles away. Those facilities are run by ICE directly or by private contractors under federal agreements.
Once in ICE custody, the person enters the immigration court system, which is separate from criminal court. The first practical question is usually whether they can get out on bond while their removal case proceeds.
Bond
Federal law sets a minimum immigration bond of $1,500, but the actual amount can be much higher depending on the circumstances.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1226 – Apprehension and Detention of Aliens Bond is set either by DHS or by an immigration judge, and the person can request a hearing to argue for a lower amount or release on conditions.
Mandatory Detention
Some people have no bond option at all. Federal law requires the government to hold, without the possibility of release, anyone who is removable because of certain criminal convictions, including aggravated felonies, drug trafficking offenses, firearms violations, and terrorism-related charges. More recent amendments expanded mandatory detention to people charged with or convicted of burglary, theft, shoplifting, or assaulting a law enforcement officer. The only release valve for people in mandatory detention is a narrow exception involving witness protection cooperation. No amount of money will get them out, and they remain in custody for the full duration of their removal proceedings, which can run months or longer.
How To Find Someone With an ICE Hold
Start by calling the jail directly. Jail staff can usually confirm whether an immigration detainer has been lodged, and if the person has already been transferred, they may be able to tell you when.
Once someone is in ICE custody, the Online Detainee Locator System at locator.ice.gov lets you search by the nine-digit A-Number (alien registration number) plus country of birth, or by full legal name plus country of birth.7Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Online Detainee Locator System The name search requires an exact match; a misspelling or a missing hyphen will return nothing. The locator only covers people currently in ICE custody or people who have been in Customs and Border Protection custody for more than 48 hours, and it does not include anyone under 18.
You can also call the ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line at 1-888-351-4024. Live operators are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
Rights and First Steps
People held on immigration detainers have fewer procedural protections than most assume. There is no constitutional right to a free attorney in immigration proceedings; unlike in criminal court, the government does not appoint a lawyer. If you cannot afford one, the options are pro bono legal organizations and nonprofit immigration legal services. The Department of Justice maintains a list of free legal service providers for people in removal proceedings, and the jail or detention facility should be able to provide it.
Getting a lawyer early makes a real difference. An attorney can challenge the detainer itself, argue for bond, identify possible relief from removal such as asylum or cancellation of removal, and catch errors that would otherwise go unnoticed. Some detainers are placed based on incorrect identification or outdated records. Form I-247A tells anyone who believes they are a U.S. citizen to call the ICE Law Enforcement Support Center at (855) 448-6903, but in practice, resolving an identity error without a lawyer is slow.
Foreign nationals also have the right, under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to contact their country’s consulate, which can help locate legal representation and contact family. Local compliance with the notification requirement varies.
For family and friends on the outside, three things matter most in the first 48 hours: confirm with the jail whether a detainer exists, find out which ICE field office has jurisdiction, and contact an immigration attorney or legal aid organization. Once ICE takes custody and moves the person to a distant facility, everything gets harder to coordinate.