Resources: Detention

Helping a detained immigrant

The sudden detention of a loved one is a tremendously difficult experience for a family.  Despite the urgency of the situation, it is important to remember that deportations typically take weeks, if not months.  This section will outline some steps that you can take to locate someone in detention and understand how to advocate for them.

2. Finding someone who is detained: It can sometimes take weeks to find someone who has just been detained by immigration. These are some steps that you can take:

• Contact the Deport Office for New England, 617-565-3304. The Deport Office of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Detention and Removal Branch can often provide information about the location of a detainee, although computer records are not updated immediately. Only call if you are certain your loved one has been detained by immigration. It is best if you can provide his/her Alien Number although officers can generally find a detainee by name if they have been entered into the system.  Outside of New England, click here to find information for your local Detention and Removal Operations Office.
• Contact your consulate. Consulates are often required by international convention or treaty to be informed when one of their nationals is detained.
• Contact individual detention centers: Some of the largest immigration facilities in New England are the Suffolk House of Corrections (617-635-1000), the Bristol County Correctional Institution (508-995-6400), the Plymouth County Correctional Facility (508-830-6200) and the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center (401-729-1190).

Read more: Detention: Helping a Detained Immigrant