If Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained someone you love in Wyoming, the first hours can feel overwhelming. You may not know where they are, what happens next, or what you are allowed to do. This guide is for families. It explains how to find your person, how detention works in a large, rural state like Wyoming, and the steps that matter most in the first days.
Start with the fact that frames everything. Immigration detention is civil, not criminal. ICE is not holding your loved one to punish a crime. It is holding them while it decides whether to remove them from the country. Because the matter is civil, the protections you might expect from a criminal case do not all apply. The most important difference: there is no free government lawyer in immigration court. If your family member cannot afford an attorney, none will be appointed. So the two priorities early on are locating your person and finding a lawyer.
You will lean on one number throughout. It is the A-Number, short for Alien Registration Number, a nine-digit number ICE assigns to each person in its system. It is the key to the locator, the court, the bond, and any attorney's work. If your loved one kept immigration paperwork at home, find that number and write it down in more than one safe place.
How to find someone in ICE custody
ICE runs a free public tool, the Online Detainee Locator System, at locator.ice.gov. You do not need a lawyer to use it. You can search two ways: by the A-Number plus the person's country of birth, or by full name, country of birth, and date of birth. The A-Number search is the most reliable.
A few things to watch. The locator matches on exact spelling, so enter the name as it appears in government records, and try variations of hyphenated or compound last names. It does not list anyone under eighteen. There can also be a delay of a day or so after an arrest before a record appears, so if nothing turns up at first, wait and try again.
If you still cannot find your loved one, you can call ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations at 1-888-351-4024. Wyoming is covered by the ICE Denver Field Office, which also handles Colorado. The Denver Field Office can be reached at 720-873-2899. Wyoming also has a local ICE sub-office in Cheyenne, reachable at 307-432-7440, and case information for people detained in Wyoming can be requested by email at wyomingero@ice.dhs.gov.
Where ICE holds people in Wyoming
Wyoming has no detention center built only for immigration. Instead, ICE holds people in county jails, and two come up most often. The Sweetwater County Detention Center in Rock Springs sits along the Interstate 80 corridor and serves as a regional holding and transport point. The Natrona County Detention Center in Casper also holds ICE detainees, sometimes for longer stretches, under a federal agreement. Both are run and staffed by their county sheriff's offices, holding a mix of local inmates, other federal detainees, and people in ICE custody.
Because Wyoming is large and rural, your loved one may be held far from home, and people are frequently moved. Transfers between Wyoming jails and the large ICE detention center in Aurora, Colorado, are common in both directions, so someone arrested in Wyoming may end up in Colorado, and vice versa. The practical lesson is to rely on the locator and the A-Number rather than assuming a fixed location, and to check more than once.
One more practical point: some Wyoming jails route detainee mail and communication through a private contractor rather than accepting items directly at the facility, and at least one does not allow in-person visits. Before you send mail, deposit money, or plan a visit, confirm the specific facility's current rules, which the locator and the facility itself can help you verify.
How a person ends up in ICE custody here
People come into ICE custody in several ways. ICE officers may arrest someone in the community, at a workplace, after a traffic stop, or at a scheduled check-in or court date. ICE can also place a detainer on someone already held by local authorities. A detainer is a request that the jail keep the person up to 48 hours past their normal release so ICE can take custody. It is a request, not a court order.
Wyoming communities generally cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, and some local agencies work alongside ICE under formal partnership agreements. That cooperation, plus the county-jail detention model, is why a loved one arrested anywhere in the state may be taken to a county jail that holds ICE detainees and then possibly moved again. Expect the place of detention to change, sometimes more than once.
The court process and your loved one's rights
Immigration court is run by a separate agency from ICE. It is part of the Department of Justice, through the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and the judge deciding a case does not work for ICE.
Wyoming does not have its own immigration court. For people detained here, hearings are typically conducted by video before an immigration court in Colorado. To find out whether your loved one has a scheduled hearing, call the automated EOIR case information line at 1-800-898-7180 and enter their A-Number.
A central early question is whether your family member can be released on bond while the case continues. Some people are eligible to ask a judge for bond; others are subject to what the law calls mandatory detention and cannot be released, depending on their history. A lawyer can quickly tell you which applies. If a bond is granted, it cannot be paid at the county jail. It must be posted at an ICE office that accepts immigration bonds, and the Cheyenne ICE sub-office at 307-432-7440 can point you to where and how.
One warning matters more than any other. Do not let your loved one sign a form agreeing to voluntary departure or giving up the right to a hearing without first speaking to a lawyer. People sometimes sign out of fear or exhaustion, thinking it will speed things up, when it can permanently close off relief they qualified for. Slow down and get legal advice before signing anything.
How families can help right now
The single most valuable thing you can do is help your person get a lawyer. Immigration law is complex, and the difference between having counsel and going it alone is enormous. Nonprofit legal organizations serve detainees in this region and can be a starting point even if your family cannot pay for a private attorney, and immigration courts keep lists of free and low-cost legal providers.
Beyond that, day-to-day support runs through whatever facility holds your loved one. You can usually add money to an account, set up phone or video contact, and arrange visits according to that facility's rules, though as noted those rules vary from jail to jail in Wyoming. Keep copies of all paperwork, especially anything showing the A-Number, and bring it to any attorney you consult. If your loved one already has a lawyer, tell that lawyer the moment a transfer happens, because moves can affect hearing dates and deadlines.
Why staying connected matters most
Detention is isolating, and that isolation hits hardest at the exact moment your loved one needs to think clearly and make good decisions about their case. Steady contact from family does more than comfort. It keeps your person grounded, hopeful, and engaged in their own defense.
InmateAid can help you keep that connection alive. Our letter service lets you send real, physical mail and printed photos, prepared on facility-approved paper and sent through the U.S. Postal Service so it arrives the way the facility expects. Because Wyoming's distances are long and people are moved often, confirm the current facility and its mail rules through the online locator before you send anything, so your letter reaches the right place. When phone time is short and a visit means hours of driving, a letter your loved one can hold and keep is one of the most reliable ways to remind them they are not facing this alone.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find someone just detained by ICE in Wyoming?
Use the Online Detainee Locator System at locator.ice.gov. Search by the nine-digit A-Number and country of birth, or by full name, country of birth, and date of birth. If nothing appears at first, wait a day and try again, and check more than once since people are moved often.
Where is my family member likely being held?
Wyoming has no dedicated immigration facility. People are most often held in county jails such as the Sweetwater County Detention Center in Rock Springs or the Natrona County Detention Center in Casper, and they may be transferred to or from the ICE detention center in Aurora, Colorado. Use the locator to confirm.
Will my loved one get a free lawyer like in criminal court?
No. Immigration court does not provide a free government attorney. Families pay for a private lawyer or seek help from nonprofit legal organizations, and courts keep lists of free or low-cost providers.
How do I find out about a court hearing?
Call the automated EOIR case information line at 1-800-898-7180 and enter your loved one's A-Number. Because Wyoming has no immigration court, hearings are usually held by video before a court in Colorado.
Can my family member be released on bond?
Sometimes. Some people can request bond from an immigration judge, while others face mandatory detention and cannot be released. A lawyer can review the specifics. If bond is granted, it must be posted at an ICE office that accepts immigration bonds, not at the jail. ```
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