Local immigration advocates share tips on how to locate a loved one detained by ICE

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Over the past month, immigration raids have escalated across California, with no end in sight as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on immigration enforcement. There have been at least three known immigration-related arrests of Santa Cruz County residents since the start of the year, and deportation fears persist within the community.

Many families don’t know where to start or whom to contact when a relative is arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and identifying the location of a detained loved one is not an easy task. To help prepare families, local immigration advocates shared their tips with Lookout on how to locate a loved one if they are detained by immigration officials. 

When someone is detained by ICE, a few things can happen. Assuming that the individual has been living in the United States longer than two years, they will most likely be issued a notice to appear in federal immigration court, said Santa Cruz-based immigration lawyer Matthew Weisner. For someone who has been living in the United States for less than two years without legal status, it’s more likely for them to get deported via expedited removal. Some people may be eligible for a bond hearing — a hearing before an immigration judge to determine if an individual should be released from detention on a bond — based on a variety of factors that could include the person’s criminal record. 

If an immigration judge grants someone bail, that person is able to be released from a detention facility to continue to fight their case, Weisner said. But if a judge denies bond or the person is ineligible, retaining an attorney can be harder to do from inside the detention center. 

One of the first steps a family can take when a loved one is detained is to consult with an immigration attorney, who can help them locate their relative, said Kate Hinnenkamp, program director for the Santa Cruz County Immigration Project. If a family does not already have legal representation, calling a local rapid response hotline — like Your Allied Rapid Response — is a good place to start, she said.

Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, parent organization of the Immigration Project, recently received a grant from the California Department of Social Services to develop and manage a hub for immigration legal help across Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties, said Hinnenkamp. 

“The idea is to really be a bridge between the rapid response phone lines and long-term legal representation for people,” she said. The project is partnering with the Watsonville Law Center, Catholic Charities, the United Farm Workers Foundation and the Youth Alliance in San Benito County. 

If families do not know which number to call, said Hinnenkamp, any of the tri-county hotlines will connect them with the appropriate help.

Friends and family of detained individuals can also access information from immigration officials and identify where that person might be without the help of a lawyer or an immigrant advocacy group. Hinnenkamp added that lawyers and Department of Justice-accredited representatives at organizations like the Immigration Project are always available to help.

Families can use ICE’s detainee locator to determine which detention center a loved one has been taken to, said immigration lawyer Lizett Rodriguez Peña. She’s based in Hollister, but has clients across the tri-county region. People using the detainee locator need to have the full name, place and date of birth of the person they are looking for, she said. 

It could take days or weeks until the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) updates its detention database, said Rodriguez Peña. She added that it’s very common for immigration officials to not upload a detainee’s information immediately. 

Families or attorneys can also try contacting local ICE field offices and trying to speak with an officer if information is not readily available, said Weisner. Rodriguez Peña also suggests contacting the detention centers directly, but told Lookout that it’s difficult, even for lawyers, to get information this way. 

“You can call all of the local detention centers and then someone will kind of give you some type of guidance, if they answer the phone, and if not, you just have to wait until the information is online,” Rodriguez Peña said. 

Hinnenkamp recommends families or individuals who might be at risk of being deported establish an emergency contact, memorize that person’s phone number or write it on their arm using a permanent marker. An emergency contact can be a trusted family member or friend. 

“Because if your phone is taken from you, and they say, ‘OK, you have one phone call’ and you don’t have the phone, at least you have access to that number,” Hinnenkamp said. 

The designated emergency contact should also have the person’s full name, date of birth and A-Number, said Hinnenkamp. An A-Number is a unique identifier — similar to a Social Security number — assigned to immigrants to help track their records, such as green cards, visas and employment authorization. This number is also given to individuals without legal immigration status who have encountered immigration officials along the border. 

“What we’re finding is, even if we have the name of the date of birth, sometimes we reach out and [DHS] won’t give any information, and there’s not a place you can go to look up people’s A-Numbers to have that,” Hinnenkamp said. 

For any bystanders who witness an ICE arrest in real time, Rodriguez Peña advises people to stand at a reasonable distance from the scene. “You have the right to request for a badge number and the name of the officer,” she added. 

If there is no family member present, it’s crucial to ask the person being arrested by immigration officials for a name and number of a family member to contact, Rodriguez Peña said. In recent immigration raids in Southern California, social media has helped with identifying individuals. 

“If none of their relatives know what’s going on with them, at least social media is identifying them by [circulating] the video. So having the identity of the individual is going to help,” Rodriguez Peña said. 

As immigration enforcement continues, Rodriguez Peña emphasizes the importance of creating an emergency plan. “Don’t wait until you’re in that situation,” she said. Gather all necessary documents — such as birth and marriage certificates, valid identification and even utility bills — in one place makes things a little easier when a family member is arrested. 

“I think we can’t really reiterate enough for the person who is detained, exercise your right to remain silent,” said Hinnenkamp. She advises people to not sign any documents given to them by immigration officials once they are arrested, and to insist on legal representation before answering any questions.

The Immigration Project just wrapped up a series of virtual “Know Your Rights” workshops and plans to schedule more in the future, said Hinnenkamp. The nonprofit is also partnering with the Watsonville Law Center and Catholic Charities on similar workshops for employers. 

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