ICE Detention in Nebraska: 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 Nebraska, it helps to know how detention is set up here. Rather than one large long standing immigration detention center, Nebraska holds people in county jails around the state, and more recently at a former state prison camp in McCook that has been converted into an ICE detention center. The state has also leaned on county jails in Nebraska and neighboring Iowa to hold detainees. So your person may be held at a county jail or at the McCook facility, sometimes a long way from Omaha or Lincoln. The two most urgent things you can do are find exactly where they are 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 follows your person from facility to facility, 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.

Because people can be moved between jails, check the locator again every few days. You can also call the specific jail for detainee information, or call the ICE detention reporting line at 1-888-351-4024. Nebraska falls under the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations St. Paul field office, and its cases are handled locally through the Omaha sub-office, which jails refer families and attorneys to for case information.

Where ICE holds people in Nebraska

Nebraska uses a mix of facilities. The Phelps County Jail in Holdrege has been the main jail that contracts directly with ICE to hold detainees for the agency. The Hall County Department of Corrections in Grand Island is also used. More recently, a former state prison camp in McCook, in the southwestern part of the state, was converted into an ICE detention center.

In addition, the Douglas County jail in Omaha holds some people on ICE detainers, even though the county has not signed a contract to detain people for ICE as a paid arrangement. ICE has also relied on a number of other county jails across Nebraska and Iowa, often near regional hubs like Omaha and Sioux City. There is also a processing site in the Omaha area where people are taken before being moved to a jail. Because people are moved between these places, always rely on the live locator to confirm where your person actually is.

How someone ends up in ICE custody in Nebraska

The most common path runs through local jails. When a person is booked into a county jail, often on a state matter, ICE can place a detainer, also called an ICE hold. Under a detainer, the jail notifies ICE when the person is booked and again when they are due to be released, and holds them for up to 48 hours so ICE can take custody. The number of these detainers in Nebraska jails has risen sharply.

People have also been taken into ICE custody at or after court appearances, and through ICE's own enforcement, including workplace operations. If your person was first arrested or appeared in a local court, 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. Detained cases from Nebraska, along with many from Iowa, are heard at the Omaha Immigration Court, frequently by video from the jail where the person is held. 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. Nebraska has immigration attorneys and nonprofit legal organizations, several based in Omaha, and getting one involved early matters, in part because the Omaha court's detained docket is busy and moves quickly. Have the A-Number ready when you call.

Learn the facility's system. Rules for adding money, phone calls, and visits differ between the county jails and the McCook facility. At some facilities, legal visitors with proper identification can visit during set hours and use a contact room or a video booth. Call the specific facility, and the Omaha sub-office for case information, to confirm how each works.

Track any 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.

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 held in a county jail or a remote facility, often far from home, 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.