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

If someone you love has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, in Maine, there is one fact that shapes everything else: Maine has no dedicated immigration detention facility. For a time, people detained by ICE in Maine were held at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland, but in 2026 the county moved to end that arrangement. As a result, people detained in Maine are now usually processed for a short time and then transferred out of state, often elsewhere in New England and sometimes much farther away. That means the window while your person is still nearby can be short, so the two most urgent things you can do are find exactly where they have been taken, 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 follows your person from place to place, and it is the key to locating them, 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.

This matters even more in Maine because people are moved out of state quickly, sometimes suddenly and in groups, and the locator does not always reflect a transfer right away. Families have at times struggled to find a loved one during these moves, so keep checking every few days. If you cannot find your person, call the ICE detention reporting line at 1-888-351-4024. Maine falls under the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston field office, which covers all of New England and is based in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Where ICE holds people detained in Maine

Because Maine has no dedicated immigration detention center, people detained here are generally moved out of state. Some are first taken to the ICE field office in Burlington, Massachusetts, about 100 miles from Portland, which is set up for processing rather than long stays. From there, and in many cases directly, people are transferred to detention sites around the region.

These have included the Strafford County facility in Dover, New Hampshire, which is one of the main county jails holding ICE detainees in New England; the Federal Correctional Institution in Berlin, New Hampshire; the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island; and the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts. Some people, particularly women, have been sent much farther, including to facilities in Louisiana. Because people are moved often and sometimes far, always rely on the live locator to confirm where your person actually is, and be prepared for the case to be handled in another state.

How someone ends up in ICE custody in Maine

Maine has generally limited how much local and state resources are used for civil immigration detention, and recent steps, including the county's move to end its detention arrangement, have reduced local holding. Because of that, people in Maine most often come into ICE custody through ICE's own enforcement, including community arrests and larger enforcement operations, rather than through long local jail stays.

If a person is booked into a local jail on other matters, ICE can place a detainer, a request to hold them for up to 48 hours beyond their normal release so ICE can take custody, though Maine has narrowed when local jails hold people solely on civil immigration grounds. If your person was arrested, ask the attorney exactly how they came into ICE custody, because the circumstances can matter to 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. Because people detained in Maine are usually moved, the case is often heard near wherever they are transferred, frequently by video, through the immigration court system that serves New England. 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. 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, and do it early. Maine has a limited number of immigration attorneys, but there are legal aid resources, including a University of Maine School of Law clinic that has worked with many detained people. Because your person may be moved out of state quickly, reach out as soon as you can, and understand that the case may continue elsewhere. Have the A-Number ready when you call.

Track the transfer. Keep checking the locator so you always know which facility your person is in, since money, phone, mail, and visitation all depend on where they are at that moment, and a move can happen with little notice.

Learn each facility's system. Because your person could be held in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, or farther away, the deposit, phone, and visitation rules vary from one facility to the next. Call the specific facility to confirm how its system works, and be ready to start over after a transfer.

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. Being moved out of state, sometimes far from everyone they know and with little warning, can leave a person isolated and frightened, 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, and they can follow your person from one facility to the next. 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.