How does the ICE Online Detainee Locator System work and how often do families report being unable to locate detained loved ones?
Executive summary
The ICE Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS) is a publicly accessible database that lets users search for people currently in ICE or certain CBP custody using either an Alien Registration Number and date of birth or precise biographical details (first/last name, country and date of birth) [1]. The system helps many families and lawyers find detained individuals but has built‑in exclusions, update lags, and strict matching rules that regularly lead people to be unable to locate loved ones — though there are no authoritative public statistics in the provided reporting quantifying how often that happens [2] [3] [4].
1. How the ODLS works in practice
ODLS offers two search paths: an “A‑Number + DOB” query when the alien registration number is known, or a biographical search using exact first and last name plus country and date of birth when the A‑Number is unknown; results show detainees currently in ICE or certain CBP custody and include facility contact information when a match is found [1] [5]. ICE says the system is available 24/7 in multiple languages and was deployed to give families and attorneys easier online access than calling field ERO offices [2]. The system intentionally withholds some fields in different search modes (for example, name searches won’t always display the A‑number) to limit data exposure [6].
2. What ODLS contains — and what it does not
ODLS contains records for individuals currently detained by ICE and certain CBP detainees who have been in custody more than 48 hours, but it does not include juveniles (persons under 18) and excludes individuals released, removed, or transferred until they are re‑booked into another ICE facility and the system is updated [4] [7] [8]. DHS privacy assessments note ODLS holds personally identifiable information about ICE and CBP detainees and highlight limits and risks tied to the scope and timeliness of data collection [9] [3].
3. Common technical and operational reasons families can’t find someone
Operationally, ODLS updates can lag — ICE policy requires updates within eight hours of a release, removal, or transfer, and the public materials note data may be anywhere from 20 minutes to eight hours old — so a recent transfer or release may make a detainee temporarily unsearchable [7]. Technically, the biographic search is exact‑match only and does not use “fuzzy” logic, so spelling variants, omitted maternal surnames, hyphens, or alternate transliterations often yield no results unless users try multiple permutations or have the A‑Number [4] [5]. ODLS also won’t show minors or certain transfers in progress for security reasons, and intake or data errors at booking can produce records that don’t match a family’s documents [8] [7] [3].
4. How often families report being unable to locate loved ones — what the reporting shows (and what it doesn’t)
Advocacy groups and practical guides make clear that many people starting a search will encounter dead ends or need follow‑up steps — NILC and LawHelpCA advise that “many” arrested people can be found but warn that minors and some transfers won’t appear, and recommend calling ERO field offices or using ICE phone lines when ODLS yields no match [10] [8]. Legal guides and law firms likewise document frequent user frustration tied to exact‑match rules and multiple A‑numbers assigned to one person over time [4] [5]. However, none of the provided sources supply systematic metrics — there are no cited government or independent studies in this reporting that quantify the percentage or number of families who cannot locate detainees using ODLS, so the frequency remains qualitatively described as “common” in practice but not numerically established in the cited materials [10] [4].
5. Remedies, alternative channels, and institutional incentives
When ODLS fails, official guidance is to contact the ICE ERO field office or the detention facility shown on partial records; ICE also provides a toll‑free ERO Detention, Removals and Information Line and emphasizes calling facilities before visits because of update lags [11] [12] [1]. Advocates and legal clinics push for more robust data practices and transparency, while ICE’s design choices — limited field disclosure and update windows — reflect competing priorities: family access versus operational security and privacy risk mitigation as documented in DHS privacy materials [6] [3]. That tension helps explain why ODLS improves access compared with earlier practices but still leaves regular gaps for families.