If someone you love has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, in Texas, it helps to understand the scale of detention here. Texas holds more people in immigration detention than any other state, with roughly two dozen facilities and, at times, close to 20,000 people in custody. These range from large privately run detention centers to a tent facility near El Paso that is the largest in the country, along with one center that holds parents together with their children. Texas also frequently receives people transferred in from other states. So where your person is held can vary widely, and the location can change. 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 with so many facilities in Texas it follows your person from place to place and 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 Texas has so many facilities and people are often moved between them, check the locator again every few days. Texas is covered by four ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field offices: Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso. If you cannot find your person, call the ICE detention reporting line at 1-888-351-4024.
Where ICE detention happens in Texas
Texas has around two dozen immigration detention facilities, most of them run by private companies under contract with ICE, and many of them in rural areas far from major cities. Knowing the main ones helps you understand what the locator is telling you.
In the El Paso area, ICE operates the El Paso Service Processing Center, and on the Fort Bliss Army base there is a large tent facility, known as Camp East Montana, that is the largest immigration detention center in the country. In South Texas, large facilities include the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, the Port Isabel Service Processing Center near Los Fresnos, and the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville. Farther north, the Bluebonnet Detention Center is in Anson, near Abilene. There are also facilities in and around Houston, Laredo, and other parts of the state.
Texas is not only a place where people are detained locally; it is also a destination for people transferred in from other states, because so much of the nation's detention capacity is here. Given the number of facilities and the frequency of transfers, always rely on the live locator to confirm where your person actually is.
If children are detained with a parent
One Texas facility, in Dilley, southwest of San Antonio, is set up to hold parents together with their children. If your family situation involves a parent and child who were detained together, tell an attorney right away, because cases involving detained children carry special legal protections and considerations. An immigration lawyer experienced with family detention can explain what those mean for your family.
How someone ends up in ICE custody in Texas
People come into ICE custody in Texas through several paths. State and local law enforcement are heavily involved in immigration enforcement, and a person can come into custody after a local arrest through a detainer, which is a request to hold someone for up to 48 hours beyond their normal release so ICE can take custody. Some agencies also have 287(g) agreements that give local officers certain immigration duties. People are detained through ICE's own enforcement as well, and, as noted, some are transferred into Texas after being detained in another state.
If your person was first arrested or stopped 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. Texas has several immigration courts, including ones at or near the larger detention centers, and hearings for detained people are often conducted by video from the facility. 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 early. Many Texas facilities are in remote areas, far from major cities and from legal services, so getting an attorney involved quickly matters. Texas has immigration attorneys and nonprofit legal organizations, including some that focus on people held in particular facilities. Have the A-Number ready when you call.
Learn the facility's system, because procedures differ from one place to the next across the state. The rules for adding money, phone calls, and visits are set by the specific facility where your person is held. Once you have confirmed the current location on the locator, call that facility to learn its rules for deposits, phone, mail, and visitation, including identification requirements and the visiting schedule.
Track every transfer. Keep checking the locator so you always know which facility your person is in, since with so many centers in Texas a person can be moved more than once, and money, phone, mail, and visitation all depend on the current location.
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. Many Texas detention centers sit in remote areas, far from home, and a person can feel cut off from everyone they know, 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.
Frequently asked questions
Where does ICE detain people in Texas?
Texas has around two dozen immigration detention facilities, more than any other state. Major ones include the tent facility near El Paso on the Fort Bliss base, known as Camp East Montana, which is the largest in the country, the El Paso Service Processing Center, the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, the Port Isabel center near Los Fresnos, the El Valle facility in Raymondville, and the Bluebonnet center in Anson, along with facilities near Houston, Laredo, and elsewhere.
How do I find someone among so many Texas facilities?
Use the free Online Detainee Locator System at locator.ice.gov, searching by the nine digit A-Number or by full name, country of birth, and date of birth. Because there are so many facilities and people are often moved, check again over several days. If you cannot find your person, call the ICE detention reporting line at 1-888-351-4024. People under 18 do not appear in the locator.
Could my family member be moved within Texas or held here from another state?
Yes to both. People are frequently transferred between Texas facilities, and Texas also receives people detained in other states, because much of the country's detention capacity is located here. Keep checking the locator to confirm the current facility.
What if a parent and child were detained together?
One Texas facility, in Dilley, southwest of San Antonio, holds parents together with their children. Cases involving detained children carry special legal protections, so contact an immigration attorney experienced with family detention as soon as possible.
Can someone be released from ICE detention on bond?
Sometimes. An immigration judge can set bond for people who are eligible, and it can then be paid for release while the case continues. Others are subject to mandatory detention and cannot get bond. An immigration attorney can determine which applies.
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