ICE Releases Linked to Alpena
No official ICE detention center was located in Alpena County. The research also found no official evidence that Alpena County Jail advertises an ICE detention contract. The ICE Detainee Locator System belongs in the custody map only because an individual county record could name ICE, a federal detainer, or a federal receiving facility. That person-specific evidence supports an ICE check. It does not justify a broad claim about the jail or anyone else held there.
When Alpena’s basis for custody ends, another authority may take the person under a valid hold. That event is a transfer even though the name leaves the county’s Current Inmates roster. A later ICE release is a separate federal event. The county movement entry identifies the local departure and receiving authority; ODLS addresses ICE custody during its limited time window. Neither source should be made to answer the other agency’s question.
Use ODLS only for a specific person when a record or other reliable fact makes ICE custody a real possibility.
Search ICE Release and Custody
The official ICE Online Detainee Locator System offers two person-specific search routes. The A-number route is more exact when that identifier is known. The biographical route can help when it is not, but spelling and the required country-of-birth field must match the record closely. ODLS does not search for children under 18.
- Gather the full legal name, exact date of birth, country of birth, and A-number if one appears in a reliable document. Do not guess these details.
- For an A-number search, enter all nine digits and the country of birth. Add leading zeroes when the documented number has fewer than nine digits.
- For a biographical search, enter the first name, last name, country of birth, and date of birth as accurately as possible.
- Compare any result with the known person and custody timeline. A locator match concerns ICE custody, not the earlier Alpena charge or jail release reason.
- If no result appears despite documented ICE involvement, use the official information line or ERO field-office route rather than changing facts until a match appears.
The Alpena County release-record path explains how to request the local transaction that may identify ICE as the receiving authority. That transaction is stronger evidence of the handoff than an inference from a roster disappearance.
ICE Release Locator Fields
ODLS search fields are designed to locate one person. They are not filters for browsing a population. Use only details supported by a document or by direct knowledge, and keep the A-number separate from local booking and court numbers.
| ODLS input | How to use it |
|---|---|
| A-number | Enter the nine-digit immigration identifier; add leading zeroes to a shorter documented number. |
| Country of birth | Required with the A-number route and used in biographical matching. |
| First and last name | Use the exact spelling and order known from reliable records. |
| Date of birth | Helps separate people in the biographical search. |
| Age restriction | The public service does not provide searches for people under 18. |
A county jail booking number, MDOC number, or BOP register number is not an A-number. If the Alpena record contains only a local identifier, ask the record custodian for the receiving agency named in the movement entry rather than entering unrelated numbers into ODLS.
ICE Release Search Time Limits
ICE states that ODLS covers people currently in ICE custody and people released from ICE custody within the prior 60 days. This makes the tool useful for a recent, documented federal transfer or release, but it is not a full historical archive. A person released more than 60 days ago may no longer appear. The absence of an older record is therefore expected and cannot establish that ICE never held the person.
Other exclusions and data limits can also affect a search. The under-18 restriction is explicit. Recent processing, spelling differences, or data that does not match the search inputs may prevent a result. An empty response does not prove release, detention, citizenship, lawful status, or lack of any immigration proceeding. It proves only that the submitted search did not produce a public ODLS match at that time.
- Current custody
- A person presently reported within the ICE detention system.
- Prior 60-day release
- A recent ICE release that remains within the locator’s stated display scope.
- Detainer
- A request or notice from another authority that can affect what happens when local custody ends.
- Transfer
- A handoff to another custodian, not a return to the community.
ICE Transfer Is Not Release
Alpena’s live jail roster shows current county custody. When a person disappears from it, several explanations remain possible: release after bond, dismissal, completion of a county sentence, transfer to another county, commitment to MDOC, federal transfer, or a data issue. Immigration status cannot be inferred from any of those possibilities. A name, accent, language, family origin, or birthplace is never a valid basis for claiming ICE involvement.
If the Sheriff’s movement or release transaction names ICE, a federal detainer, or a receiving facility, report the event in the record’s own terms. “Transferred to ICE custody” and “released by ICE” describe different points in time and different agencies. The first ends the local jail segment without community release. The second concerns the end of the later federal custody segment, subject to the locator’s scope and any other legal authority.
Note: A detainer-related county departure must be verified from the person’s record, not from assumptions about identity or background.
ICE Release Records and Contact
ODLS is the first official public check for a specific adult. When a documented ICE connection remains unresolved, the Detention Reporting and Information Line and the regional Enforcement and Removal Operations office provide the next channels. Michigan falls within the ERO Detroit regional path, but addresses and routing can change, so use ICE’s current directory rather than an old copied address.
ICE Detainee Information
Online search: ICE Online Detainee Locator System
Detention Reporting and Information Line: 888-351-4024
Regional route: ERO Detroit through the current ICE field-office directory
Local status: No official ICE detention center was located in Alpena County.
Have the full name, date of birth, country of birth, A-number if known, and the last confirmed custody location ready. State the question narrowly, such as whether the person is currently in ICE custody or where an authorized contact should seek a recent custody record. Protected case information may not be available to every caller. DRIL and ERO do not replace legal advice or the record held by the immigration court or another issuing body.
Record the date and channel used for each inquiry. A dated ODLS result, DRIL response, county movement entry, and court record may describe different stages, so preserving the source prevents one agency’s answer from being attributed to another.
Alpena Records Before ICE Custody
The current Alpena County jail began inmate operations on October 31, 2021. It replaced a former facility, so older booking and movement records may name a different building. This local history matters when requesting the county segment of a person’s custody chain. It does not mean either building was an ICE detention center, and it supplies no evidence about an individual’s immigration status.
Give the Sheriff a full name, distinguishing details, and an approximate booking period. Ask for the existing booking or jail-register entry, actual movement date and time, release code or reason, and destination or receiving agency. A historical record from before the move may still document the same essential handoff fields. If the county record names a different agency, follow that agency instead of forcing the search into ICE ODLS.
Alpena ICE Release Jurisdiction
Alpena County Jail may house people connected to neighboring counties. As a result, the confinement county, booking agency, charging court, and later custodian may all differ. A transfer back to an originating county is not an ICE transfer. Likewise, a court event in Alcona, Montmorency, or Alpena does not by itself establish federal immigration custody.
Create a source-based timeline. Start with the county booking and court of jurisdiction, identify the movement destination, then use ODLS only if a record points to ICE. The Alpena County jail release page covers the local record and transfer language. ODLS covers current ICE custody and recent ICE releases within its stated window. Keeping those stages separate prevents a county departure from being mislabeled as an immigration release.
If ODLS returns no result, preserve that limited finding. Check the spelling and documented identifiers, account for the 60-day scope and under-18 exclusion, and use DRIL or ERO Detroit when a real ICE connection is already established. Do not fill gaps with speculation.