When immigration officers arrest someone you love, the first question is simple but urgent: where is that person now? The ICE detainee locator is the official free tool for finding out. But a search does not always work on the first try, and finding your loved one is only the first step.

At Pozo Goldstein, LLP, our Miami immigration lawyers guide families through this process. Our team includes a former Miami-Dade County Court Judge, Ada B. Pozo, and two former federal immigration prosecutors, Steven A. Goldstein and Frieda M. Goldstein. This guide explains how to find someone in ICE custody, where ICE holds people in South Florida, and what to do next.

What Is the ICE Detainee Locator?

The ICE detainee locator is the common name for the Online Detainee Locator System. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) runs the tool, and anyone can use it for free on the official ICE search page. You do not need an account, and you do not need a lawyer to search.

The system lists adults who are now in ICE custody. It also lists people whom U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has held for more than 48 hours. When a search finds a match, the results name the facility and explain how to contact it.

Still, the tool has limits. It does not list children under 18. It may also lag behind a recent arrest or transfer, so an empty result does not always mean your loved one is free.

What Information Do You Need to Search?

You can search in one of two ways. The best way uses the person’s A-number and country of birth. Otherwise, you can use the person’s full name and country of birth.

The A-number is the file number that immigration agencies give each person. You can usually find it on a green card, a work permit, a Notice to Appear, or a letter from ICE or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The search needs nine digits. So if the number has only eight, add a zero to the front.

If you do not have the A-number, a name search can still work. However, the name must match government records exactly. For example, a search for “Maria Lopez” may miss a record filed under “Maria Lopez Garcia.” So try each spelling the person has used, with and without a second last name or hyphen.

How to Use the ICE Detainee Locator Step by Step

Follow these steps to run a search:

1. Go to the official search page at locator.ice.gov.
2. Choose to search by A-number or by name.
3. Enter the details and select the country of birth.
4. Complete the security check, then click the search button.
5. Finally, write down the facility’s name, address and phone number.

The ICE detainee locator is always free. No one has to pay to use it, so be wary of anyone who asks for money to “find” a detainee. If a caller claims to work for ICE and asks for payment, hang up and call a lawyer instead.

Why the ICE Detainee Locator May Not Show Your Loved One

An empty result is common. Here are the most frequent reasons a search comes back blank:

• The arrest is recent, so the record has not appeared yet.
• A name or A-number does not match the government’s records.
• Your search used the wrong country of birth.
• Children under 18 do not appear in the system at all.
• Local police still hold the person on a criminal charge, and ICE has only placed a “detainer” request.
• ICE has already released, moved or deported the person.

If local police still hold your loved one, check the county jail’s inmate search. In Miami-Dade, the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department runs the jails. In Broward, the Broward Sheriff’s Office does. After that, keep checking the ICE detainee locator once or twice a day, because records can change quickly.

Records can also fall short at newer sites. In 2025, families and lawyers said they could not track many people held at the state-run Everglades site known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” When a search keeps failing, an immigration lawyer can contact ICE directly. For example, a lawyer who files a notice of appearance (Form G-28) can then ask the ICE Miami Field Office about a client’s case.

Where Does ICE Hold Detainees in South Florida?

ICE often takes people arrested in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties to one of these facilities:

• Krome North Service Processing Center, 18201 SW 12th Street, Miami. Often called the Krome detention center, it is ICE’s main processing center in the region. It also houses an immigration court, so judges hear many detained cases there.
• Broward Transitional Center, Pompano Beach. A private company runs this center under a contract with ICE.
• Glades County Detention Center, Moore Haven. ICE resumed housing detainees at this county jail in 2025.
• The “Deportation Depot,” Sanderson. Florida opened this state-run site inside the former Baker Correctional Institution, west of Jacksonville, in September 2025.

The Everglades site known as “Alligator Alcatraz” opened in July 2025. In June 2026, officials moved the last detainees out, and the state began taking the site down. You can read more in our earlier article, What Is “Alligator Alcatraz”?

ICE can also move a detainee to another state, such as Louisiana or Texas, with little warning. For this reason, check the ICE detainee locator again, even after you find your loved one.

What Should You Do After You Find Your Loved One?

As soon as you know where the person is, act quickly. Detained cases move much faster than cases on the regular court calendar.

1. Call the facility. Ask how to set up phone calls, add money to the person’s account and schedule a visit.
2. Find the court date. With the A-number, use the EOIR Automated Case Information portal or call 1-800-898-7180.
3. Gather key papers. Collect the person’s passport, ID, immigration papers and proof of family, work and years in the United States.
4. Urge caution. Tell your loved one not to sign any form he or she does not understand, especially one that agrees to leave the country.
5. Call an immigration lawyer. Deadlines in detained cases are short, and early action protects options such as bond.

If a court date has already passed, our article on missing an immigration court date in Miami explains the options.

Can Someone Detained by ICE Get Out on Bond?

Many people can ask an immigration judge for release on bond. At a bond hearing, the judge weighs two main questions. Is the person a danger to the community? Will the person return for every court date? If the judge grants bond, federal law sets the minimum at $1,500, and the amount is often much higher. In addition, our bond and detention page explains the process in more detail.

Bond is not open to everyone, however. For example, people with certain criminal records face mandatory detention. Since September 2025, the Board of Immigration Appeals has also held that immigration judges cannot hold bond hearings for many people who entered the country without inspection. However, federal courts have rejected that view in many cases, and the law in this area keeps changing. When an immigration judge will not hold a hearing, a habeas corpus petition in federal court may offer another path to release.

Our firm handles these cases at every level. Our attorneys recently won bond at a Krome hearing for a client who faced serious allegations. They also won bond for a Belizean client held at Broward Transitional Center. In February 2026, a federal court granted our habeas petition and ordered ICE to release a long-term detainee within 24 hours.

How Pozo Goldstein, LLP Helps Families of ICE Detainees

Detention cases call for speed and a clear view of how the government builds its case. Our attorneys bring both.

Ada B. Pozo served as a Miami-Dade County Court Judge and presided over thousands of civil and criminal cases. She now focuses on complex immigration matters, has served on the board of the South Florida Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and speaks fluent Spanish.

Steven A. Goldstein was a trial attorney for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, chosen through the U.S. Attorney General’s Honors Program. He later prosecuted cases for ICE and has argued key cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Frieda M. Goldstein is also a former federal immigration prosecutor in New York and Miami. She served as a judicial law clerk at the immigration courts in both cities, which gave her a view of these cases from the bench.

Attorney Nathaly Henriquez focuses on family and criminal immigration matters, including helping clients win release from long detention.

Together, our lawyers help families find a detained loved one, seek bond, fight deportation in immigration court and challenge unlawful detention in federal court. We also serve clients in English and Spanish from offices in Miami, Palm Beach and New York.

Get Help Beyond the ICE Detainee Locator: Contact Pozo Goldstein, LLP

The ICE detainee locator can tell you where a loved one is. However, it cannot win that person’s release or protect his or her right to stay in the United States. That takes an experienced legal team, because every day counts.

If ICE has detained a family member in Miami or anywhere in South Florida, contact Pozo Goldstein, LLP today. Call (305) 856-0400 or send us a message to schedule a consultation with a Miami immigration lawyer. Our Miami office is at 333 South Miami Avenue, Suite 700, in downtown Miami.