Check Immigration and Customs Enforcement Releases

ICE Custody Release Paths

ICE custody is distinct from an SCCDOC booking, a state criminal case, MODOC imprisonment, USMS detention, and BOP custody. An ICE detainer is a request to another agency concerning notice or transfer. If SCCDOC releases a person to ICE, county custody ends but community release does not occur at that point. The county movement entry should identify the receiving agency, and the ICE record should document the federal immigration stage.

An ICE exit also has more than one possible meaning. A person may be released under an alternative to detention or another immigration condition, transferred within the immigration detention network, or removed or repatriated. Removal is not a return to the St. Charles County community. A locator result must be read with case and destination facts rather than treated as a general “free” label.

ICE Release Locator Search

The Online Detainee Locator accepts two search routes. The stronger method uses a nine-digit A-number and country of birth. If the number has eight digits, add a leading zero for the search. The second method uses exact first and last name, country of birth, and an optional date of birth. Name spelling and order matter, so copy them from official documents when possible.

The locator does not search people under 18. It covers people currently detained by ICE and people released from ICE custody during the prior 60 days. That recent window is not a permanent archive. Once it passes, a correct name can produce no public result even though ICE previously held and released the person.

1. Use the nine-digit A-number and country of birth when both are known.
2. Otherwise enter the exact first and last name and country of birth.
3. Add the date of birth to reduce same-name matches where the form allows it.
4. Read the displayed status and facility or release information exactly.
5. If no match appears, check spelling, number formatting, age, timing, and transfer evidence.

The official ICE Online Detainee Locator is the correct public starting point. Do not substitute a commercial people-search page or an adult county roster for this agency record.

Note: The locator’s recent-release coverage lasts 60 days, so older ICE custody requires another records or case channel.

When ICE Release Search Fails

A no-match result has several plausible causes. The recent-release window may have expired. The A-number may lack the leading zero. A name may differ from the spelling or order in ICE’s record. The country of birth may be wrong. Data can lag during movement. ICE may never have held the person, even if an immigration issue was discussed. The locator also excludes people under 18.

Return to the source of the transfer claim. Ask SCCDOC or the municipal custodian for the release destination and custody-transfer agency. If the record names ICE, use that date, full name, and A-number in the locator and when contacting ICE. If it names USMS or another authority, follow that system instead. A county rumor or a federal cooperation announcement does not establish individual ICE custody.

For urgent location or basic case help, contact the ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line. Keep the exact time, number used, and response. If staff cannot disclose details, ask for the correct authorized case or records route.

ICE Release Record Contacts

ICE’s locator is designed for current and recent status. A historical release or transfer question may require an ICE records request or an authorized case inquiry. Give the A-number, exact name, country of birth, date of birth when appropriate, and a narrow date range. Ask for the custody, release, transfer, or detention-location record at issue rather than a broad immigration file.

The information line can assist with basic detention and location questions, but the caller may need authorization or exact identifiers. A county record request should name SCCDOC as the originating department and ask for the booking, custody movement, release type, and destination. That record answers whether county custody ended in an ICE transfer.

If the ICE record and county record use different times, preserve both. One may mark the county exit and the other the federal admission. Ask which timestamp represents physical transfer.

ICE Detainers and County Release

An immigration detainer concerns communication or transfer between agencies. It does not automatically prove that ICE accepted custody, that a person was taken to an ICE facility, or that removal occurred. The individual county movement entry is the key local evidence. Without it, the detainer claim remains incomplete.

St. Charles County announced in 2026 that the County Council approved training some County Police officers to work with federal immigration authorities. That announcement does not create a dedicated ICE detention center in the county. It does not show that SCCDOC is an ICE prison, and it does not establish a particular person’s custody or release.

Use a two-source transfer check. Pair SCCDOC or a municipal exit record with the ICE locator, ICE response, or federal record. If the sending record says “released to ICE” but the locator is blank, check the 60-day window, identifiers, and timing before drawing a conclusion.

Note: County release to ICE is a transfer between custodians, not proof of a return to the community.

Federal Release and Transfer Context

Several federal paths can follow a St. Charles County booking. USMS may assume custody for a federal warrant or pretrial case. BOP may later receive a person serving a federal sentence. ICE may receive a person through an immigration transfer. Each has a different public-access system. USMS has no public locator, BOP has a sentenced-custody locator, and ICE has current and limited recent-release coverage.

A blank result in one system cannot be used as proof about the others. A person “Released” by BOP may still enter ICE custody. A person released by ICE may remain subject to immigration case conditions. A person leaving SCCDOC for USMS may never have been in BOP yet. Follow the named receiving agency from one record to the next.

Detainer

An agency request or notice connected to possible custody transfer.

Transfer

A movement from one custodian to another, not a community release.

Alternative to detention

An ICE-managed release arrangement that can include continuing conditions.

Removal or repatriation

Departure from the United States, not a return to local community custody.

These distinctions keep release language accurate. Say “left SCCDOC for ICE,” “released from ICE custody,” or “removed,” only when the source supports that exact event.

Local Custody Before ICE Transfer

St. Charles County does not have one complete municipal detention search. City of St. Charles staffs a holdover where officers book and release prisoners. Wentzville lists jail and booking. O’Fallon documents municipal booking management. St. Peters uses SCCDOC for confinement. A person can leave a short city hold without an SCCDOC booking, or can move from the city to SCCDOC before any federal issue is resolved.

Begin with the arresting city when the county and MOVANS channels have no match. Request the city release or transfer entry. If the record points to SCCDOC, continue with the County Registrar and Corrections. If it names ICE or another federal agency, keep that entry as the sending-side evidence and follow the federal channel.

This fragmented layer makes negative searches especially weak. An adult county no-result does not prove ICE transfer. An ICE no-result does not prove municipal release. The custody chain depends on affirmative records from the agencies that handled the person.

After an ICE Custody Release

Release from ICE detention may include continuing immigration proceedings or conditions. The locator is not a full case docket and does not explain every obligation. Use the authorized immigration case channel for case status and counsel for legal advice. Keep detention status separate from the outcome of the immigration case.

A recent release result is affirmative evidence that ICE reported the custody change. It still does not show that the person returned to St. Charles County. The destination may be elsewhere, an alternative arrangement may apply, or removal may have occurred. Ask only for the record and status needed to resolve the custody question.

Verify an ICE Custody Exit

Build a dated chain. Start with the municipal or SCCDOC movement record. Add the ICE locator result during its coverage window. Add the ICE response or historical record when the public result is absent or too limited. If USMS or BOP appears between events, keep those custody records separate.

Do not average conflicting dates. A county release timestamp, ICE booking time, transfer time, and ICE release time can all be accurate. Label each one. If only the ICE locator is available, state the exact ICE status and the date checked. Do not extend it into a claim about all federal, state, or local custody.

Official sources can change, so recheck the locator and contact information when the answer is time-sensitive. Exact, narrow wording gives the most useful result: current ICE custody, released from ICE within the locator window, transferred from SCCDOC to ICE, or no conclusive ICE match.