ICE Detention in New Hampshire: 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 New Hampshire, it helps to know how detention works here. People are held at one of two main places: the Strafford County jail in Dover, which has held immigration detainees for years, and the federal prison in Berlin, in the far north of the state, which began holding ICE detainees in 2025. New Hampshire has also become a destination for transfers from elsewhere in New England, so your person may be held here even if they were detained in another New England state. 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 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, which can be longer when someone is held at the federal prison in Berlin.

Because people can be moved between facilities, check the locator again every few days. If you cannot find your person, call the ICE detention reporting line at 1-888-351-4024. New Hampshire falls under the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston field office, which is based in Burlington, Massachusetts, and covers all of New England. There is also an ICE sub-office in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Where ICE holds people in New Hampshire

New Hampshire uses two main facilities. The Strafford County Department of Corrections in Dover is a county jail that has held immigration detainees for years and remains the state's main county holding site. The other is the Federal Correctional Institution in Berlin, a medium security federal prison in the far north of the state, in Coos County, which began holding ICE detainees in 2025. It is one of a small number of federal prisons across the country that have been repurposed to hold immigration detainees.

There is an important practical difference between the two. At a county jail or a dedicated ICE facility, ICE staff are generally on site or close by. At the federal prison in Berlin, they are not based there in the same way, which families and attorneys have found can slow down immigration paperwork, notice of court dates, and even release, and can make legal and family contact harder. Berlin is also remote, several hours north of Boston. People are sometimes moved between these facilities or brought in from other New England states, so always rely on the live locator to confirm where your person actually is.

How someone ends up in ICE custody in New Hampshire

New Hampshire's role in immigration detention was historically limited, with the Strafford County jail serving as the main site. Today, the most common paths into ICE custody run through that local jail's longstanding agreement with ICE, through ICE's own enforcement in the community, and through transfers from other New England states.

When a person is booked into a local jail, ICE can place a detainer, also called an ICE hold, which is a request to keep the person for up to 48 hours beyond their normal release so ICE can take custody. If your person was first arrested locally, 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. New Hampshire does not have its own immigration court, so cases are generally heard in the Boston area, often by video. For people held at the federal prison in Berlin, the delays described above can affect the timing of paperwork and hearings, which makes having an attorney especially valuable. 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. New England has experienced immigration attorneys and nonprofit legal organizations, and getting one involved early matters, especially if your person is at the federal prison in Berlin, where contact and paperwork can be slower. Have the A-Number ready when you call.

Confirm the facility before anything else, because the systems are very different. At the Strafford County jail, there are county jail style options for phone, video calls, and non contact social visits. At the federal prison in Berlin, phone time is more limited and visiting is harder given the remote location. Once you know from the locator where your person is, call that specific facility to learn its current rules for money, phone, mail, and visits.

Track every 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, and a move can take them farther north or out of state.

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 detained is isolating, and it is harder still at a remote prison far from home where phone time is limited and visiting is difficult. Steady contact from home is one of the few things that genuinely helps a person hold on, and when calls and visits are scarce, written contact carries even more weight.

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.