How to Find a Family Member Detained by ICE in California

When ICE takes someone you love into custody, the panic is immediate — and the system gives you almost nothing to work with. There’s no automatic phone call to family. There’s no notification sent to your door. You may not even know what happened until hours or days later, when a friend, a coworker, or the person themselves manages to reach you from inside a facility.

This is one of the cruelest parts of the U.S. immigration system. Families are left scrambling to figure out where their loved one is, what’s happening to them, and what they can do about it. If you’re in this situation right now, take a breath. This guide will walk you through exactly how to find your family member, what tools are available to you, and what steps you should take to protect their case.

Step 1: Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator System

The fastest way to find someone in ICE custody is through the Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS). This is a free, public tool operated by ICE that’s available 24 hours a day in multiple languages.

You can search two ways:

• By A-Number — This is the most reliable method. The A-number (alien registration number) is an 8- or 9-digit number that starts with the letter “A.” It appears on immigration documents like Notices to Appear, work permits, court notices, and correspondence from USCIS or ICE. If you have access to any of your family member’s immigration paperwork, look there first.
• By name and country of birth — If you don’t have the A-number, you can search using the person’s full legal name, date of birth, and country of birth. Be aware that this method is less reliable. The name must match exactly how a government employee entered it into the system. If there’s a misspelling, if the first and last name were reversed, or if a middle name was included or omitted, the search may come up empty even though the person is in custody.

There are a few important things to understand about this system:

• It can take 24 to 48 hours or longer for someone to appear in the locator after being taken into custody. If you don’t find them immediately, keep checking.
• If your family member was initially taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) rather than ICE, they should appear in the system after 48 hours in CBP custody.
• Children under 18 who are unaccompanied generally do not appear in the ODLS.
• Take a screenshot of any results you find. If the person is transferred to a different facility, the information will change, and having a record of where they were held can be important for their case later.

Step 2: Contact the ICE Field Office

If the online locator doesn’t help, your next step is to contact ICE directly. California falls under two ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) field offices:

• San Francisco Field Office — Covers Northern California, including the Bay Area, Sacramento, and the Central Valley. Phone: (415) 844-5512. Email: SanFrancisco.Outreach@ICE.DHS.GOV
• Los Angeles Field Office — Covers Southern California, including Los Angeles, San Diego, the Inland Empire, and surrounding areas. Phone: (213) 830-7911

A word of warning: these offices are notoriously difficult to reach. You may need to call multiple times throughout the day before getting through to someone. When you do reach an officer, provide only the information necessary to locate your family member — the A-number, full legal name, and date of birth. Do not volunteer additional details about their immigration history or status.

Step 3: Check the Immigration Court System

Even if you can’t determine which facility is holding your family member, you may be able to find out whether they have a case in immigration court. The EOIR Automated Case Information System allows you to look up case status using the person’s A-number. You can also call the system at 1-800-898-7180.

This won’t tell you exactly where someone is being held, but it can reveal whether removal proceedings have been initiated, which immigration court has the case, and whether a hearing has been scheduled. That court assignment can sometimes help narrow down the facility location, since immigration courts are often connected to specific facilities.

Where ICE Holds People in California

California has several facilities where ICE holds noncitizens in custody. The major ones include:

• Adelanto ICE Processing Center — Located in San Bernardino County, operated by GEO Group. This is one of the largest ICE facilities in the state, and the population has surged dramatically since 2025.
• Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center — Located in Bakersfield, also operated by GEO Group.
• California City Detention Facility — A facility in Kern County’s Mojave Desert that was reopened by the current administration. It has a capacity of approximately 2,560 beds, making it the largest in the state.
• Imperial Regional Detention Facility — Located in Calexico, near the U.S.-Mexico border.
• Otay Mesa Detention Center — Located in San Diego, operated by CoreCivic.

However — and this is critical — just because someone was taken into custody in California doesn’t mean they’re being held in California. ICE frequently transfers people to facilities in other states, including Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arizona. These transfers can happen without notice to attorneys or family members. If you can’t locate your family member at a California facility, they may already have been moved out of state.

Other Ways to Search

If the ODLS and ICE field offices aren’t producing results, there are additional steps you can take.

Contact the Person’s Consulate

ICE is legally required to notify foreign consulates when a national from their country is taken into custody. The consulate may have information about your family member’s location that ICE hasn’t made public. Contact the consulate of your family member’s country of origin and provide whatever identifying information you have. Consulates vary in their responsiveness, but this can be a valuable resource, especially when other channels fail.

Call Facilities Directly

Many county jails that hold ICE detainees have their own inmate locator systems on their websites. If you have reason to believe your family member is at a particular facility, try searching the jail’s public records or calling the facility directly. Freedom for Immigrants maintains a helpful list of facilities with contact information.

Reach Out to Your Congressional Representative

If you’ve exhausted other options, contact the office of your U.S. Representative or Senator. Congressional offices have the ability to make inquiries to federal agencies on behalf of constituents. While this won’t guarantee results, it creates an additional channel of pressure and can sometimes produce information that families can’t obtain on their own.

What to Do Once You’ve Located Your Family Member

Finding your loved one is only the first step. What you do next can have a significant impact on their removal case.

Get an Attorney Involved as Soon as Possible

Noncitizens in removal proceedings have the right to legal representation, but the government does not provide a lawyer. The sooner an attorney enters the case, the better positioned your family member will be. An attorney can file a notice of appearance with the immigration court, which creates a formal record that the person has counsel. This matters — once an attorney is on file, ICE is required to provide notice of any proceedings or transfers.

Don’t Let Them Sign a Stipulated Order of Removal

ICE officers may pressure your family member to sign documents that waive their right to a hearing before an immigration judge. These stipulated orders of removal fast-track the removal process and are extremely difficult to reverse. Your family member has the right to refuse. They have the right to see a judge. Make sure they understand this before they sign anything.

Start Gathering Evidence for Their Case

Whether your family member’s case involves asylum, cancellation of removal, or another form of relief, the evidence supporting their case needs to come from their life here. Start collecting:

• Tax returns, W-2s, and proof of employment
• Lease agreements, mortgage documents, or utility bills in their name
• Children’s school enrollment records and report cards
• Medical records, particularly for any serious conditions
• Character reference letters from employers, community members, religious leaders, and friends
• Photos documenting family life and community involvement
• Any prior immigration paperwork

This evidence may need to be submitted to an immigration court on short notice, so having it organized and ready is essential.

Keep a Detailed Record of Everything

Write down every date, every phone call, every facility name, and every interaction with ICE or any other government agency. If your family member is transferred between facilities, document each move. This record can be important evidence if there are due process concerns in the case — and in the current enforcement environment, those concerns are common.

How the Law Office of Lina Baroudi Can Help

At the Law Office of Lina Baroudi, we work with families across California who are facing removal proceedings. We know how disorienting and frightening it is when ICE takes someone you love into custody — and we know that the system is not set up to make this easy for families.

Our removal defense practice focuses on identifying every available legal option and building the strongest possible case. Whether your family member is being held in California or has been transferred out of state, we can step in to protect their rights, file the necessary motions, and fight for the best possible outcome.

If ICE has taken your family member into custody, don’t wait. Contact our office today to schedule a consultation. The earlier we get involved, the more we can do.