ICE Detention in Alabama: How to Find and Support a Detained Loved One

If someone you love has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, the situation feels very different from an ordinary arrest, and it is. ICE detention is civil, not criminal. A person is not being held as punishment for a crime; they are being held to make sure they appear for immigration proceedings or removal. That difference shapes everything, including a hard fact families need to know up front: in immigration court there is no right to a free, government appointed lawyer the way there is in criminal court. So the two most urgent things you can do are find exactly where your person is being held, and start looking for an immigration attorney right away.

This guide explains how to locate someone in ICE custody connected to Alabama, where ICE detention actually happens in and around the state, how the process and a detained person's rights work, and the concrete ways a family can help from the outside.

One number matters more than any other through all of this: the Alien Registration Number, called the A-Number. It is a nine digit number assigned to the case, and you can find it on immigration paperwork, a work permit, or court notices. Write it down and keep it close, because it is the key to locating your person, posting any bond, and working with a lawyer.

How to find someone in ICE custody

ICE runs a free public tool called the Online Detainee Locator System, at locator.ice.gov. You can search two ways: by the A-Number, which is the most reliable, or by the person's full name plus their country of birth and date of birth.

A few things make the difference between finding your person and coming up empty. The locator only matches names spelled exactly the way the government entered them, so if you do not get a result, try different spellings, swap the order of first and last names, and try with and without a middle name. Children under 18 do not appear in the system at all. And there can be a lag of a day or more before a newly detained person shows up.

If you still cannot find them, you have other options. Call the facility directly if you know where they are. Call the ICE detention reporting line at 1-888-351-4024. For someone detained very recently near the border, Customs and Border Protection has a line at 1-866-347-2423. Alabama falls under the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New Orleans field office, which oversees immigration custody for the state, so that office is another point of contact.

Where ICE detention happens in and around Alabama

The single most important thing to understand is that the person may not stay in Alabama, or may never have been held there at all. ICE moves people between facilities and across state lines frequently, and a detention that begins in Alabama can end up in Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, or farther away. This is why the locator and the A-Number matter so much: they follow the person wherever they go.

Within Alabama, the main dedicated ICE detention site is the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, run by the Etowah County Sheriff's Office. ICE had stopped using Etowah in 2022, but the facility was brought back into ICE service in 2025 as immigration detention expanded nationwide. Etowah is in a relatively remote part of the state, which can make in person legal visits and family visits harder to arrange, so plan ahead and confirm details with the facility.

Beyond that one facility, many people first enter the immigration system through local county jails. A number of Alabama counties, including Colbert, Crenshaw, Elmore, Etowah, Franklin, and Henry, have entered into 287(g) agreements with ICE. These agreements let local jail officers check immigration status and place an ICE hold, also called a detainer, on someone already booked into the jail. A detainer is a request to keep a person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, so ICE can take custody. That is how a routine local booking can turn into immigration detention, and it is worth understanding if your person was first arrested by local police.

Nationally, ICE detention capacity grew sharply in 2025 and 2026, with many facilities reactivated or newly contracted, often run by private companies. Because the list of active facilities changes quickly, always rely on the live locator rather than an old list.

How the process and your person's rights work

Immigration cases are handled in immigration court, which is run by a separate agency called the Executive Office for Immigration Review, not by ICE. You can check the status of a case through its automated case information system using the A-Number.

Here is what families most need to know about rights. A detained person has the right to be represented by a lawyer, but at their own expense, because the government does not provide one in immigration proceedings. They have the right to a list of free or low cost legal service providers. They generally have the right to a hearing before an immigration judge, and in many cases the right to ask that judge for release on bond.

Bond is a central issue. Some people are eligible for bond, which an immigration judge can set, and once set, it can be paid so the person is released while their case continues. Others fall under mandatory detention, often because of certain criminal histories or the way they entered the country, and are not eligible for bond. An immigration attorney can tell you quickly which category your person is in, which is one more reason to get legal help early.

How families can help from the outside

Find a lawyer first. Contact local and national immigrant legal aid organizations, and ask the court or facility for the list of free and low cost legal providers. Have the A-Number ready when you call.

Put money on their account. Most facilities let you deposit funds so your person can buy phone time and commissary items. The method depends on the facility, so call to confirm how deposits and phone calls work, since at a county jail like Etowah the systems are run by the jail and its vendors.

Visit if you can. Contact the facility directly to confirm visitation days, hours, identification requirements, and any need to schedule in advance, and remember that a remote location may require travel planning.

Keep the paperwork organized. Hold onto every document with the A-Number, every court notice, and every receipt, and share copies with the attorney.

Staying connected matters more than anything

Through all of the logistics, do not underestimate the simple power of staying in touch. Detention is isolating and frightening, often made worse by distance and the fear of deportation, and steady contact from home is one of the few things that genuinely helps a person hold on.

Letters and photos are the backbone of that connection. They are something your person can keep in a cell, read again on a hard night, and hold as proof that home has not let go. InmateAid can help you send physical mail and photos to your loved one, printed and delivered the right way so it reaches them inside. Use it to send pictures of family, words of encouragement, or simply a reminder that someone is fighting for them on the outside. That steady contact, alongside a good lawyer, is the most practical support you can give while the case moves forward.