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

Georgia is one of the busiest immigration enforcement and detention states in the country, and it is home to some of the largest ICE facilities anywhere. If someone you love has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, in Georgia, there is a good chance they are being held within the state, often at a large facility in a rural area far from Atlanta. Knowing that helps you act 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. Georgia falls under the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Atlanta field office, reachable at 404-893-1210, which oversees immigration custody for Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Where ICE detention happens in Georgia

Georgia's main immigration facilities are large and rural, well away from the Atlanta metro area. The biggest is the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, in the southwest part of the state, a privately run facility that is one of the largest and busiest immigration detention centers in the entire country and serves as the main detention facility for the Atlanta field office. It regularly holds people transferred in from other states, not just from Georgia.

In the southeast, near the Florida border, is the Folkston ICE Processing Center, another large privately run facility that has been expanding and is on track to become one of the biggest of its kind in the nation. A third facility, the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, also holds people for ICE.

These facilities are remote. Lumpkin is more than two hours from Atlanta, and Folkston is farther still, which makes visiting and even legal access a real challenge, so plan ahead. One practical note is that immigration courts operate at both Stewart and Folkston, so many cases are heard on site. Because people can be moved in and out of the state, always rely on the live locator to confirm where your person actually is.

How someone ends up in ICE custody in Georgia

Georgia has moved firmly toward cooperation with ICE. A state law passed in 2024, the Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act, generally known as House Bill 1105, requires local jails and law enforcement to check the immigration status of people in custody, notify ICE, and honor ICE detainers. A detainer is a request to hold a person for up to 48 hours beyond their normal release so ICE can take custody. Many Georgia sheriffs have also entered into 287(g) agreements, which let local officers carry out certain immigration functions.

What this means in practice is that a local arrest in Georgia, even for something minor, can lead to immigration custody. When a person is booked into a county jail, their status is checked and ICE may be notified. If your person was first arrested locally, this is usually how a local matter became an immigration detention.

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. In Georgia, immigration courts operate at the Stewart and Folkston facilities as well as in Atlanta, 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. Note that immigration bonds are generally not posted at these remote facilities themselves, but at the ICE office in Atlanta or as your attorney advises. One more thing worth knowing: a detained person should not sign documents giving up their rights, such as a voluntary departure form, without talking to a lawyer first.

How families can help from the outside

Find a lawyer first, ideally one who knows these specific facilities. Because Stewart and Folkston are remote, attorneys and legal aid groups experienced with them can save crucial time. Have the A-Number ready when you call.

Put money on their account and learn the phone and mail systems. Each facility runs its own deposit, phone, and mail systems, often through outside vendors, so call the facility to confirm how each works.

Visit if you can, but plan carefully. Stewart, for example, generally allows one non contact visit per week of up to an hour, and Folkston has its own weekend visiting schedule; both require valid identification and ask visitors to arrive early to clear security. Confirm the current rules with the specific facility before making what may be a long 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. The remoteness of Georgia's facilities can leave a person feeling especially isolated and far from everyone they know, frightened and cut off, 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.