Check ICE Detainee System Releases

Branch ICE Release Scope

ICE detention is federal civil immigration custody. It is not a county criminal sentence, Michigan prison parole, or BOP imprisonment. The Branch County research found no official evidence that Branch County Jail is an ICE detention facility or that the County has a current public ICE detention contract. That gap matters. The local jail must not be described as an immigration detention center without an official source establishing that role.

A person can still pass from Branch County Jail to ICE if a valid immigration hold and transfer occurs. In that event, the person has been released from Sheriff custody to ICE, not released to the community. The Branch booking and release sheet should identify the receiving agency when that field is recorded and releasable. ICE's Online Detainee Locator System can then provide a second system-specific clue.

Search ICE Detention Status

The official ICE Online Detainee Locator System provides two search paths. An A-number search uses the immigration file number and country of birth. A biographical search uses the person's name, date of birth, and country of birth. Enter names exactly and consider lawful spelling variants when a name contains more than one part. Match the result carefully before relying on the location information.

1. Open the official ICE locator rather than an unaffiliated detention-search page.
2. Use the A-number and country of birth when the number is known.
3. Otherwise, use the biographical search with the full name, birth date, and country of birth.
4. Review the returned custody and facility information and note the access date.
5. Contact the listed facility or ICE information route when current confirmation is needed.
6. If no record appears, verify spelling and inputs, then use the sending agency and ICE contact channels.

The locator does not cover every person or every moment. Newly transferred records may lag. People under eighteen do not appear in the public system. Some records may be unavailable for legal or operational reasons. An empty result therefore cannot prove that ICE released the person, never detained the person, or lacks current interest in the case.

Branch Jail to ICE Transfer

When a Branch County Jail departure may involve ICE, start with the jail's own custody record. Call 517-278-2325 with the full name, date of birth or booking number, and approximate booking date. Ask whether the person remains in Sheriff custody, left for the community, or transferred. If staff can disclose it, ask for the receiving agency and recorded transfer date. A focused question is more useful than asking the jail to research an immigration case.

For documentary proof, use the Sheriff-specific FOIA form. Request the nonexempt parts of the booking and release record, including release or transfer date and time, release reason or code, releasing authority, and receiving agency when recorded and releasable. The jail record establishes the end of county custody. It does not establish the later outcome of ICE proceedings.

A court dismissal or local bond order may remove one basis for jail confinement while another hold remains. Staff must process the order and check valid holds. A transfer can occur after a local case changes. Read the Branch court file for the local legal authority, but do not expect it to provide a full immigration docket or the exact later ICE release event.

ICE and Federal Prison Releases

ICE and BOP are both federal components, but they answer different questions. BOP holds sentenced federal prisoners and provides a locator that can retain released-person information from 1982 onward. ICE manages civil immigration detention and provides its own locator for current detention information. A BOP result does not establish ICE status, and an ICE result does not establish a federal criminal sentence.

The U.S. Marshals Service adds a third federal path. USMS manages many federal pretrial detainees and movements but has no public person locator like BOP. A person can move from Branch County Jail to USMS, later to BOP, or under some facts to ICE. The sending record and receiving agency are therefore essential. Do not infer the receiver from the word “federal.”

ICE detention

Federal civil immigration custody managed through ICE processes.

BOP custody

Federal prison custody, generally following a federal criminal sentence.

USMS custody

Federal detention and transport often connected to pending court proceedings.

Detainer

A request or notice that another authority may seek continued custody or transfer.

The federal inmate release page covers BOP and USMS records. Use it only if the receiving record points to the federal criminal system rather than ICE.

Confirm an ICE Release

A locator result is current-status information, not a certified release certificate. If the person was shown in ICE custody and later disappears, the change can have several explanations. Data may lag, the person may transfer to another facility, a record may become unavailable, or custody may have ended. Ask ICE or the listed facility for the current status through the official detention-information route. Keep the former result, access date, and any case or A-number.

If ICE confirms custody ended, attach ICE to the statement. “Released from ICE custody” says which system ended its hold. It does not prove that no state, county, federal criminal, or other lawful custody exists. A receiving-agency record, court filing, or authorized case document may be needed to identify the next status. Avoid the bare word “free.”

Request ICE Detention Records

ICE records are federal records. A requester should use the responsible ICE records route and identify the exact document or data sought. Include the person's full name, A-number when known, relevant facility, and a narrow time period. Access can depend on identity verification, consent, the Privacy Act, FOIA exemptions, and the requester's legal relationship to the person. Do not send unnecessary personal information through an unverified channel.

Ask for an existing record rather than an open-ended explanation. Examples include a custody transfer record, facility history, or release-related entry, subject to lawful disclosure. The agency need not create an analysis. If Branch County created the sending record, request that record from the Sheriff. If BOP or USMS created a different federal record, route the request to that agency. Each record stays with its custodian.

Immigration court and ICE custody records are not interchangeable. A court record can show a hearing, filing, or order, while ICE records physical detention and movement. An order may precede processing. Pair the records when exact timing and legal authority both matter.

Note: Keep the A-number private except when providing it through the official locator or an authorized government contact.

ICE Detention Contact Route

The official ICE detention-management page provides current detention information and contact routes. Use the facility shown by the locator when one appears. No local ICE facility address belongs in the Branch County directory because the research did not identify an ICE detention center in the county.

For the sending event, Branch County Jail is at 379 Keith Wilhelm Drive, Coldwater, Michigan 49036, phone 517-278-2325. The jail can address its own release or transfer record. It cannot certify all later immigration developments. The court or a qualified legal representative handles legal-process questions that agency staff cannot answer.

Branch ICE Record Limits

No official evidence in the research established a current Branch County and ICE detention contract. No local immigration release feed, fixed release schedule, or public county-to-ICE transfer list was found. These are real gaps. They must not be filled with practices from another Michigan jail or with claims from a private detention directory.

VINELink is also not a substitute for ICE's system. VINE depends on participating reporting agencies and is designed for custody information and notification. It does not cover BOP or guarantee Branch jail contribution, and it should not be presented as an ICE release certificate. The Michigan offender registry is unrelated to general immigration status. OTIS is limited to MDOC populations.

When the custodian is uncertain, the Branch County released inmates overview helps distinguish the county jail, Lakeland state prison, federal prison, and immigration routes. Once ICE is identified, use ICE records and precise agency-specific language throughout.

After ICE Detention Ends

The end of ICE detention does not describe the full legal case. A person may have reporting duties, a pending proceeding, an appeal, another agency's hold, or no further physical custody. Only the applicable order and agency records can establish those facts. Do not infer them from disappearance in the public locator.

For personal reconnection or legal coordination, confirm the release through official contacts and information the person or authorized representative can lawfully share. Protect addresses, A-numbers, family details, and other sensitive data. A dated official status is more useful than a copied social post. If immediate legal advice is needed, contact qualified immigration counsel rather than asking a detention locator to answer a legal question.

Precise wording remains the core rule: released from Branch County Jail to ICE, held in ICE custody, transferred within ICE, or released from ICE custody. Each phrase states what is known without claiming more.