ICE Detention in Vermont: 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 Vermont, it helps to know how detention is set up here. Vermont is unusual in that people detained by ICE are most often held in the state's own prisons rather than in county jails or a private detention center. The main sites are the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, which holds men, and the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, which holds women. Many people are also moved quickly, sometimes within hours, to other facilities in New England or flown to facilities in distant states. So your person may be held in Vermont or moved fast, and finding their current location is the first task. Getting an immigration attorney involved right away is the second.

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, even across state lines, 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 are often moved quickly, and sometimes out of state, check the locator again every few days. Vermont falls under the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston field office, which covers all of New England and can be reached at 781-359-7500 or by email at Boston.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov. If you cannot find your person, call the ICE detention reporting line at 1-888-351-4024.

Where ICE detention happens in Vermont

Unlike most states, Vermont holds ICE detainees in its state prisons, under an agreement between the state and federal immigration authorities. The Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans is the main site for men, and the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, the state's women's prison, holds women. There is also an ICE office in the St. Albans area used for shorter term processing.

The number of people held in Vermont at any one time is small, and people frequently do not stay long. They are often moved to other facilities in the region, such as the large detention center in Plymouth, Massachusetts, or the federal prison in Berlin, New Hampshire, or flown to facilities in distant states. Because of how quickly this can happen, always rely on the live locator to confirm where your person actually is.

How someone ends up in ICE custody in Vermont

Vermont generally limits cooperation between local and state law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, so many people are taken into custody through ICE's own enforcement, including arrests in the community. A person can also come into custody after contact with law enforcement through a detainer, which is a request to hold someone for up to 48 hours so ICE can take custody.

One thing worth knowing is that not everyone held in Vermont was detained there. Because Massachusetts has no immigration detention facility for women, women arrested by ICE in Massachusetts have at times been brought to Vermont. If your person was first arrested in another state, ask the attorney how that affects the case, because the circumstances can matter.

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. Cases for people detained in Vermont are generally heard through the immigration court in Boston, often by video, and if your person is moved to another state, the case usually follows them. 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; if bond is granted, it can be paid online or at any ICE field office by someone with identification and lawful status. 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, and act quickly, because transfers in Vermont cases can happen fast, sometimes overnight. An attorney who can follow the case across state lines, or who works with lawyers elsewhere in New England, is valuable. Have the A-Number ready when you call.

Learn the facility's system. The rules for adding money, phone calls, and visits are set by the specific facility where your person is held, and they differ from one place to the next. Call the facility to confirm current procedures, and if your person is moved, you will need to learn the new facility's rules.

Track every transfer. Keep checking the locator so you always know where your person is, because in Vermont cases the location can change quickly, even out of state, and money, phone, mail, and visitation all depend on the current facility.

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. Detention is isolating and frightening, and a fast transfer to a facility in another state, far from everyone familiar, makes it even harder, 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.