Locate ICE Custody Status

ICE Transfer Versus Release

An ICE detainer can cause a criminal-jail booking to end while detention continues under immigration authority. The local actual Release Date answers when that booking closed. It does not answer whether the person returned to the community. Look for a release disposition, transfer destination, detainer, or hold and follow the named agency.

County/Salem Jail offers historical booking details. WVRJ’s public tool is current-only, so its disappearance needs phone or records follow-up. ICE's Online Detainee Locator then checks current immigration detention. These three records cover different custody periods and cannot be substituted for one another.

Search ICE Detainee Custody

Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator System in one of two modes. The number search requires an exact nine-digit A-number and country of birth; add a leading zero if the number has eight digits. The biographical search requires exact first and last name plus country of birth, with date of birth as an optional narrowing field.

1. Copy the name and A-number exactly from an official record.
2. Choose A-number search when the identifier is available.
3. Enter country of birth and add a leading zero when required.
4. Otherwise use exact name, country of birth, and optional birth date.
5. Record the result wording and the date checked.
6. Call the ICE information line when exact searches do not resolve custody.

The system excludes people under 18 and describes coverage of current ICE detention and CBP custody exceeding 48 hours. A no-result can stem from spelling, exact-match problems, age exclusion, recent CBP detention, data lag, transfer, release, or another custodian. It is not a historical release certificate.

Note: Try verified name variants and official identifiers before interpreting a no-result.

ICE Locator Result Limits

The online locator answers a narrow question: whether the person is reported in covered current detention. It does not list every prior immigration custody event. It does not provide the County/Salem Jail's release reason. Nor does it establish the legal result of the criminal case.

Use the sources as a timeline. A local or regional jail record begins the chain. An ICE match can confirm the next period. Later no-result status requires direct follow-up or records, not speculation. A sentence end also cannot establish that no immigration detainer remained.

ICE Detainee Contact Route

For unresolved location questions, ICE publishes the Detention Reporting and Information Line. The line provides language help and operates Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern. Have the full name, A-number, country of birth, birth date, and last known facility ready.

Protected immigration records may require a FOIA or Privacy Act request and proof of identity or consent. Ask for existing custody, transfer, or release records tied to a known event. Privacy and law-enforcement exemptions can restrict what another person receives. The phone line is for current location help, while a records request is the stronger archival route.

Roanoke ICE Release Chain

Start at the exact Roanoke-area custodian. In the County inquiry , leave In Custody unchecked and open the correct booking. Confirm the actual Release Date and any disposition. If WVRJ held the person, call Intake or seek the commitment and release entries because its public JailTracker does not advertise released records.

1. Identify County/Salem Jail or WVRJ as the actual custodian.
2. Match the booking with number, date, and court case.
3. Obtain the actual release or transfer entry.
4. Search ICE with the A-number and country of birth.
5. Call the information line if the public locator is inconclusive.
6. Use records requests for a durable custody timeline.

The Roanoke County released-inmate search covers the local booking fields and cross-system fallbacks. Roanoke City is a separate locality and must not be used as a substitute. Similarly, BOP and USMS are federal criminal custodians, not ICE.

ICE Identity and Record Controls

Exact identity is crucial. Names can be spelled, spaced, or ordered differently across jail and immigration systems. Compare the A-number, country of birth, date of birth, aliases, booking number, and court case when lawfully available. Never merge two people because they share a name.

A-number

An immigration identifier used by the ICE locator, formatted to nine digits for search.

Detainer

An agency request or hold that can redirect a jail release.

Transfer

Movement to another custodian while detention continues.

Community release

An end to physical custody, which one agency's no-result alone cannot prove.

A public interface may expose more personal data than is needed. Record only the identifiers required to verify custody. If sources conflict, note the agency, exact label, and access date. Ask each source owner to address its own record rather than choosing one result without explanation.

ICE and Federal Custody Boundaries

ICE, USMS, and BOP are separate federal systems. USMS usually handles federal pretrial and fugitive custody and has no public general inmate locator. BOP covers federal prison terms and former prisoners within its locator range. ICE handles immigration detention. A person can move between these systems, but a result in one does not supply the history of another.

When the local disposition names another agency, use that clue. When it merely says release, ask for the destination to the extent releasable. A bond order, sentence completion, or dismissed charge cannot establish that no detainer existed.

WVRJ History Raises ICE Questions

WVRJ opened in 2009 for four member localities and also houses state-responsible, federal, and contract prisoners. That mixed population makes a roster disappearance poor proof of community release. Its 2025 report documents releases and property handoffs, but it does not publish a public released archive or an ICE-specific destination feed.

If a WVRJ commitment closes, request its disposition and property-return acknowledgment. The signed property record may corroborate the WVRJ release workflow, but only the transfer record and ICE confirmation establish the receiving custody. No official WVRJ release time, exit, weekend practice, or transport rule was verified.

Note: Describe each event within its custodian's scope, then connect the events with dated transfer records.

Request ICE Custody Records

When the current locator cannot answer a historical question, request the existing ICE custody or transfer record. Identify the exact name, A-number, country of birth, approximate dates, criminal-jail facility, and recorded transfer. Ask for the specific custody entry, facility movement, or release record rather than a general explanation. Immigration files may require identity verification, consent, or a Privacy Act process, and protected information may be withheld.

A focused request should also distinguish the criminal-jail event from the immigration event. County/Salem Jail or WVRJ owns its release disposition. ICE owns the later detention record. The court owns the criminal disposition. If those dates appear to conflict, record what each date measures before seeking a correction. A local Release Date and a later ICE custody date can both be accurate because they document consecutive custodians. That sequence must not be shortened into a claim that the person entered the community between them.

ICE No-Result Follow-Up

An ICE no-result requires a controlled fallback rather than a release claim. Recheck the A-number as nine digits, verify country of birth, and compare the name with an official jail or court record. Exact-match differences can prevent a result. The locator also excludes people under 18 and may not yet reflect recent CBP detention, a transfer, or a data update. Call the Detention Reporting and Information Line after those checks and record when the query was made.

If the last known event was at County/Salem Jail, request the actual release disposition and any recorded receiving agency. If WVRJ held the person, ask for the regional commitment, disposition, and transfer entry because JailTracker is current-only. A VINE event can corroborate a local transfer or release report, but it is not a lasting archive and does not replace ICE confirmation. These steps show whether the search failed, the person moved, or the public system has not yet caught up.

Do not treat a criminal court outcome as an immigration custody result. A dismissed charge, time-served sentence, or bond authorization can explain why criminal detention ended, yet an ICE detainer may still control the next handoff. The careful statement names the criminal-jail end date, the recorded transfer destination, the ICE observation, and any unresolved gap between them.