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

California has one of the largest immigration detention networks in the country, so if someone you love has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, in California, there is a strong chance they are being held somewhere in the state. Detention is concentrated in a handful of large facilities, mostly inland in San Bernardino and Kern counties and near the southern border around San Diego and Calexico. Knowing that helps you act quickly on the two most urgent things: find exactly where your person is being held, and get an immigration attorney involved right away.

It helps to understand the nature of this. ICE detention is civil, not criminal. A person is not being held as punishment for a crime; they are being held to secure their presence for immigration proceedings or removal. And unlike criminal court, immigration court does not provide a free, government appointed lawyer, which is why finding legal help early is so important.

One number matters more than anything else through all of this: the Alien Registration Number, called the A-Number. It is a nine digit number assigned to the case, found 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 by the A-Number, which is the most reliable way, 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 get no 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 cannot find them, call the facility directly if you know where they are, or call the ICE detention reporting line at 1-888-351-4024. California is large enough to be split among several ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field offices: the Los Angeles field office for much of Southern California, the San Diego field office for the San Diego and Imperial area, and the San Francisco field office for central and Northern California. Which one oversees your person depends on where they are held.

Where ICE detention happens in California

California's immigration detention is spread across about eight large facilities, and they are all run by private prison companies under contract with ICE. They fall into a few clusters.

In the high desert of San Bernardino County is the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, one of the largest in the state, along with an adjacent annex. In Kern County, in and around the towns of Bakersfield, McFarland, and California City, is a cluster that includes the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center, the Golden State Annex, the newer Central Valley Annex, and the California City facility. Near the southern border are the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico and the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego County.

Several of these are large and sit in remote desert or agricultural areas, which can make visiting a long drive, so plan ahead and confirm details with the specific facility. California's detention capacity also grew in 2025 and 2026, with ICE opening additional centers in former state prison buildings, so the active list changes. Always rely on the live locator rather than an old list.

A note on California's private detention law

Families often ask how California can have so many private ICE facilities when the state passed a law against them. In 2020, California enacted a law, known as AB 32, intended to phase out private prisons and private immigration detention in the state. Federal courts later ruled that the law cannot be applied to federal immigration detention contracts, because states cannot block federal enforcement. As a result, privately run ICE facilities have continued to operate in California, and have expanded. The state ban still applies to other kinds of private prisons. The practical takeaway for families is simple: despite the state law, your person may well be held in a privately operated ICE facility.

How someone ends up in ICE custody in California

People are taken into immigration custody in California in several ways, including direct ICE arrests in the community, arrests near the border, and, less often than in some states, handoffs from local jails.

California law limits how much local police and sheriffs cooperate with ICE. Under the state law often called the California Values Act, local agencies are restricted from many forms of assistance to immigration enforcement, so the local jail to ICE pipeline is narrower here than in states that fully cooperate. That said, ICE still conducts its own enforcement throughout the state, and a person can still be transferred to ICE in some circumstances. If your person was arrested, it is worth asking the attorney how they came into ICE custody, because it can affect the case.

How the process and your person's rights work

Immigration cases are handled in immigration court, run by a separate agency called the Executive Office for Immigration Review, not by ICE. California has several immigration courts, including ones connected to the detention facilities, and you can check case status through the court's automated 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. Some people are eligible for bond, which a judge can set and which can then be paid for release while the case continues; others fall under mandatory detention and are not eligible. 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. California has one of the largest networks of immigrant legal aid organizations and immigration attorneys in the country, including groups that work specifically inside the detention facilities, so there is real help available. Have the A-Number ready when you call.

Put money on their account and learn the phone system. Most facilities let you deposit funds so your person can buy phone time and commissary. You usually cannot call a detainee directly, though facilities typically have a way to pass an urgent message if you provide the person's full name and A-Number. Call the facility to confirm how deposits, calls, and messages work.

Visit if you can. Each facility sets its own visitation days, hours, and rules, and several are far from major cities, so confirm everything with the specific facility before making the drive.

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, 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.