FOIA for Detained Immigrants and Families
Your family member is in ICE custody. The agency doesn't get to go silent on you.
ICE detained someone you love.
You may not have their A number, the facility isn't answering your questions, and a hearing may already be on the calendar.
A Freedom of Information Act request asks the government for its own paperwork on the case. It cannot find your family member for you, and it does not change when a hearing happens.
Those are two different jobs. This page keeps them separate on purpose.
We are Novo Legal Group, a bilingual immigration and civil-rights firm that litigates stalled federal records requests. This page is part of our FOIA litigation practice for immigration records. Below, we walk through what FOIA can reach, how to locate someone first, why these requests stall, and what a Colorado family facing the Hudson Contract Detention Facility should know.
Call (888) 746-5245
Last reviewed: November 14, 2026.
A hearing is coming up and records matter to the case. Call (888) 746-5245 or talk to a FOIA litigation attorney about what can and can't be done before that date.
Talk to a FOIA litigation attorneyFOIA for Detained Immigrants: Why Records Matter Before a Bond Hearing
A custody (bond) hearing runs on evidence. Some of the paper that matters, such as prior immigration filings and records of earlier encounters with immigration authorities, sits inside federal agency files.
Whether a detained person can get a bond hearing at all has been in active litigation since 2025, and that question belongs to their immigration attorney.
FOIA, at 5 U.S.C. § 552, gives any person the right to request copies of federal agency records, including records about a family member, subject to identity and consent rules we cover below. That right exists whether or not a hearing is scheduled. For ICE records, a scheduled hearing does not by itself speed a request up. USCIS is different: its FOIA page says it will prioritize a request that includes proof of an upcoming immigration-court hearing, such as a Notice to Appear. Expedited processing, covered below, is a separate request the agency decides case by case.
Records requests take time, and a hearing date does not wait for them. That is why families and attorneys often start the records side early, while the deportation-defense work goes forward on what is already available.
What FOIA Can Get You When Someone You Love Is in ICE Custody
FOIA reaches two different buckets of paper. They live at different agencies, inside the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice.
A-file and immigration-court records
USCIS is the main custodian of the A-file, the core immigration file DHS keeps on a noncitizen who has applied for an immigration benefit or been through enforcement. The agency's own form for requesting it, Form G-639, carries the edition date 12/12/24 and states its purpose plainly: to request access to USCIS records under FOIA and the Privacy Act. USCIS takes these requests online through its FIRST system at uscis.gov/foia, and DHS stopped accepting mailed or emailed FOIA requests on January 22, 2026. Form G-639 covers USCIS records. It is not the form ICE uses, and this page will not tell you to send it to ICE.
The form's purpose line cites both laws by number: FOIA at 5 U.S.C. 552 and the Privacy Act of 1974 at 5 U.S.C. 552a. Its header lists OMB No. 1615-0102, with an expiration date of 12/31/2027.
Separately, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) offers its own non-FOIA path: a respondent or their attorney of record can request a copy of the official record of proceeding directly from the immigration court or the Board of Immigration Appeals, by mail, email, or in person. That route belongs to the detained person and their attorney of record, and it is often faster than FOIA. An EOIR FOIA request is a separate process with its own rules. The Executive Office for Immigration Review's FOIA page describing this route carries an update date of May 18, 2026.
Detention and custody classification records
ICE holds its own set of records tied to a specific custody decision. Requests for those records go through ICE's FOIA office, not USCIS, and ICE's FOIA page says a request about another person must include that person's signed consent, or ICE may close the request. We do not promise that every custody document exists in a form FOIA can reach.
What we will do is tell you, case by case, which agency likely holds what you need.
Finding a Detained Family Member
Start with ICE's own locator. ICE operates the Online Detainee Locator System, abbreviated ODLS, at https://locator.ice.gov/odls/. The tool's own page states its purpose directly: "Use this page to locate a detainee who is currently in ICE custody or who has been in U.S. Customs and Border Protection's custody for more than 48 hours."
ODLS has real limits. An A number search needs exactly nine digits. A name search needs an exact match on first and last name, so a search for "John Doe" will not find "Jon Doe." ODLS cannot search for anyone under 18, and it requires a country of birth for either search type. If the system comes back empty, ICE's own factsheet on locating individuals in detention says to contact the appropriate ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office directly, though the office may not tell you where the person is.
ICE dated that factsheet August 8, 2023.
The search limits above come from the live Online Detainee Locator System page as checked on November 5, 2026.
An empty locator result does not prove that your family member was released or deported. News outlets reported in September 2026 that since about September 15, 2026, the locator no longer lists people with a final order of removal, including an order issued after a missed hearing, except at a few sites where court orders require ICE to list them, and that ICE officers were told not to give those locations to families or lawyers who ask. A federal lawsuit filed October 28, 2026 (Greater Boston Legal Services v. Mullin, in federal court in Massachusetts) makes the same allegations. ICE has not publicly confirmed the change. People being moved between facilities can also be missing from the locator for days, according to an April 6, 2026 letter from members of Congress to the DHS Inspector General. Families in this situation often search again over several days and call the field office even after an empty result. If you have the person's A number, the immigration court's online case information may show a judge's decision and any appeal, but not where the person is held, and it does not cover removal orders issued by ICE without a judge.
The reported locator change above reflects press reports and court filings as checked on November 14, 2026.
ODLS and FOIA do two different jobs. The locator may show where ICE is holding someone. It does not hand over custody paperwork, classification decisions, or the reasoning behind a detention. FOIA reaches that paperwork, on the statutory clock described below.
We put the Online Detainee Locator System first and the records request second.
Why These Requests Get Delayed and What You Can Do
Each of the four problems below can hold up a request to ICE's Freedom of Information Act Office about someone in custody. Once a request has already stalled, our page on ICE FOIA request delays covers expedited processing and when a lawsuit is an option.
Your Request Went to the Wrong Door
ICE's own FOIA page states that requests "must be submitted electronically through the SecureRelease Portal" and that "ICE does not accept FOIA requests by email or hard copy through the mail," with one narrow exception for requesters who are themselves detained or incarcerated. For requesters who are detained or incarcerated, ICE lists this mailing address: Freedom of Information Act Office, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, 500 12th Street SW, MS 5009, Washington, D.C. 20536-5009.
ICE will not accept a mailed or emailed request from a family member outside that exception. Requests go through the portal, and the confirmation and tracking number matter later if the request stalls or ends up in an appeal or lawsuit.
On foia.gov's page for U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, a DHS notice says that effective January 22, 2026, DHS no longer accepts mailed or emailed FOIA and Privacy Act requests for DHS records. ICE's own submit-request page, as checked November 5, 2026, still lists the detained-requester exception.
Attorneys filing for a client submit DHS Form G-28, the representation form, through the same SecureRelease Portal, with any required client consent and identity certification.
The Consent Form Wasn't Signed the Right Way
A request for records about someone else needs that person's consent on ICE's Certification of Identity form or another approved consent form, with their own handwritten signature, not a digital one. The request must be notarized or signed under penalty of perjury. ICE's own page states that without valid consent, "ICE may administratively close your request." If that happens, a corrected new request generally means a new wait. Because the signature must be handwritten, getting the form to and from someone in detention takes planning, and attorneys handle that step routinely.
DHS's rule for third-party requests, 6 C.F.R. § 5.3(a)(4), names the same two signing options: a notarized authorization, or a declaration made under 28 U.S.C. § 1746. ICE links its Certification of Identity at https://www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/iceIdentityCert.docx, and its submit-request page does not mention Form G-639.
ICE Took the Statutory Extension
The agency generally has 20 business days to decide whether it will comply with a request, under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i). In unusual circumstances, the agency may extend that by up to ten working days under § 552(a)(6)(B)(i), and DHS's own regulation at 6 C.F.R. § 5.5(c) requires the agency to notify you before the original 20-day period runs out.
Under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B)(i), the written extension notice must state the unusual circumstances and the date a determination is expected. The statute caps the extension that notice can set at ten working days, except as provided in 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B)(ii) for requests that still can't be processed in time. DHS's timing rule, 6 C.F.R. § 5.5(a), says components "ordinarily will respond to requests according to their order of receipt."
An extension notice is not a denial. It is also not permission to go silent after it expires.
The Request Wasn't "Perfected"
If a request is "missing required documents, unclear, overly broad, or does not reasonably describe the records sought," ICE may contact the requester for clarification or close the file. Requests that identify the person (full name, date of birth, country of birth, A number if known) and the custody decision or time period at issue are easier to process. Vague requests sit longer.
We watch these four failure points on every case we take in, because they are the ones that cost families the most time. If one of them already happened to your request, call (888) 746-5245 before the next deadline passes.
Talk to a FOIA litigation attorneyColorado Families: Records When a Loved One Is Held at Hudson
If ICE is holding your family member at the Hudson Contract Detention Facility in Colorado, our Hudson Contract Detention Facility page covers the facility and know-your-rights basics. Read it alongside this one, which covers the federal paper trail behind a detention.
That page also notes that GEO Group runs the Hudson facility.
Colorado families filing a FOIA request about a Hudson detention follow the same federal process described above, including ICE's SecureRelease Portal for ICE records and the 20-business-day clock in 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i). For ICE records, ICE's FOIA office, not the facility, processes the request and decides what is released.
Our deportation-defense team handles the removal case itself, and our FOIA practice handles the records side.
What We Don't Know Yet
Two things here can't be predicted from the outside.
DHS's own regulation lists "the loss of substantial due process rights" as a ground for expedited processing, at 6 C.F.R. § 5.5(e)(1)(iii), beyond FOIA's own two statutory grounds. A request for expedited processing needs a statement, certified as true and correct, explaining the basis in detail, and DHS rules require a decision on that request within ten calendar days. A grant moves the request ahead in line. It does not set a date for records. Whether an approaching bond hearing qualifies under that ground is a decision ICE makes case by case, and we are not aware of published data on how often ICE grants that ground for detention-custody requests.
Those mechanics sit in three subsections of the same DHS rule: 6 C.F.R. § 5.5(e)(1)(iii) for the ground, 6 C.F.R. § 5.5(e)(3) for the certified statement, and 6 C.F.R. § 5.5(e)(4) for the ten-calendar-day decision.
As of November 2026, foia.gov reports ICE's average processing time for 2025 as 86 working days for complex requests.
That figure is an average across all complex ICE requests, not a prediction for any one family's file, and foia.gov does not publish a breakdown by request type that would tell us where a detention-records request typically falls within it.
As of November 2026, the same foia.gov page lists ICE's 2025 average for simple requests as 3 working days, without saying which requests ICE counts as simple.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out where ICE is holding my family member?
Use the Online Detainee Locator System at https://locator.ice.gov/odls/. Search by the person's A number (exactly nine digits) or by their exact first and last name; either search also needs their country of birth. If the search comes back empty, ICE's own factsheet directs you to contact the appropriate ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office, though the office may not tell you where the person is. An empty search does not prove the person was released or deported. News outlets reported in September 2026, and a federal lawsuit filed October 28, 2026 alleges, that the locator stopped listing most people with a final order of removal around September 15, 2026. As of November 14, 2026, ICE had not publicly confirmed that change.
Can I get my family member's A-file if I'm not the attorney of record?
Generally yes, with your relative's written consent. USCIS is the main custodian of the A-file, so the request goes to USCIS, online through its FIRST system, not to ICE. Form G-639 is USCIS's form. DHS rules give a requester greater access to someone else's records when that person signs a notarized authorization or a declaration under penalty of perjury (6 C.F.R. § 5.3(a)(4)). Without consent, the agency typically withholds the person's private information. When your relative can't sign, an attorney can look at the alternatives.
How long does ICE have to respond to a FOIA request?
ICE generally must decide whether it will comply within 20 business days of receipt, under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i), with a possible 10-working-day extension for unusual circumstances. That is the decision clock, not a promise of how long production will take. As of November 2026, foia.gov reports ICE's average processing time for 2025 as 86 working days for complex requests. If ICE misses its deadline on your request, extension included, we can walk you through the next steps, up to a lawsuit under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(C)(i).
Can a FOIA lawsuit help before a bond hearing?
It can help the case, but it cannot promise records by a hearing date. When ICE misses its statutory deadline, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(C)(i) treats the requester as having exhausted administrative remedies, so the requester can sue in federal district court without first filing an administrative appeal. A court can order improperly withheld records released, but the case runs on the court's schedule, and an early bond hearing often comes first. Records obtained later can still matter as the removal case goes forward.
What's the difference between a FOIA request and talking to the facility directly?
A phone call to the facility may answer basic questions, depending on who answers and what they are allowed to share. FOIA gives you a federal legal right backed by a statutory response clock, an appeal process, and a court remedy if the agency ignores it. The two are not substitutes for each other, and neither one replaces the Online Detainee Locator System as the first place to check where someone is held right now.
Talk to a FOIA Litigation Attorney
For families whose loved one is in ICE custody and whose records request is stuck, denied, or hasn't been filed yet.
We built our FOIA litigation practice because government silence is not a technicality. It is a failure of the obligation Congress wrote into the statute, and we treat it that way in federal court. That obligation is the 20-business-day determination deadline in 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i), and 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(C)(i) lets a requester take a missed deadline to federal district court. We do not promise that a lawsuit lands your family member's file before the hearing on your calendar.
Our promise is narrower: a straight read on your case and a firm that will fight the agency's silence as hard as we fight the underlying immigration case.