Check ICE Custody Handoffs

ICE Custody Release Meanings

Release from Sarasota County Correctional Facility and release from ICE are two distinct events. SCSO may close its booking because federal immigration authorities assume custody. The county record can therefore show release from the jail while the person remains confined. Later, ICE may release the person from immigration detention, transfer the person, continue a check-in requirement, place the person in Alternatives to Detention, or take another action within the immigration case.

Always state the custodian. “Released from SCSO to ICE” describes a transfer. “Released from ICE custody” describes departure from immigration detention but does not mean immigration proceedings ended. “Not found in ODLS” is only a search outcome. It is not a legal status. The locator is useful for current custody and limited recent history, not a complete public release archive.

Search ICE Detainee Records

The ICE Online Detainee Locator offers two identity routes. The stronger route uses the nine-digit A-number and country of birth. Add leading zeros when an A-number has fewer than nine digits. The biographical route uses exact name and other identifying fields. Spellings, compound surnames, and name order can affect the result.

1. Confirm that a county, court, or agency record points to immigration custody.
2. Choose A-number search when the number and country of birth are known.
3. Otherwise enter exact biographical details and try supported name forms carefully.
4. Compare the result with the person’s verified identity and custody trail.
5. Call ICE’s information line when a recent handoff is not visible.
6. Use DHS-VINE for eligible custody-change notification and ICE FOIA for records.

Minors under 18 and some other records do not appear. The public locator includes many people currently detained and people released from ICE custody within the last 60 days. After that recent window, absence may simply reflect locator scope.

ICE Locator Search Limits

A blank result has several possible causes. The person may be outside the recent-release window, excluded from the public tool, entered with a mismatched name or country, waiting for a recent transfer to post, or never held by ICE. An ordinary Sarasota booking does not justify an ICE search unless the source record or known case facts point there. Never infer immigration status from birthplace, language, surname, or appearance.

ODLS is not the BOP locator. It also is not Florida VINE. Each system reports events from its own participating custodians.

ICE Detention Information Contact

ICE’s Detention Reporting and Information Line is the official fallback when the locator does not resolve a current or recent custody question. Callers should have the A-number, full legal name, date of birth, country of birth, known transfer date, and prior facility ready. Staff may limit disclosure or require verification.

No dedicated ICE detention center was identified in Sarasota County in the directories reviewed for the research. That is not a permanent guarantee about contracts or placements. ICE may move a person within its nationwide detention network. Use the current result and the named facility rather than assuming the person remained near Sarasota.

DHS-VINE Immigration Alerts

DHS-VINE is distinct from Florida VINE. Florida VINE covers Sarasota County jail and FDC custody events. DHS-VINE supplies immigration custody-change notification for eligible users. A registration or alert is a fast notice, not a certified release record and not a substitute for an immediate safety plan or legal advice.

The official DHS-VINE entry is the correct notification route for the immigration system.

The service helps follow an event after the correct person has been identified. Verify any notice with ICE, especially when the destination or legal effect matters.

Registration systems may require contact details and confirmation steps. Keep them current. A county VINE registration should not be assumed to carry into DHS-VINE automatically.

Sarasota ICE Detainer Handoff

Sarasota has a concrete local handoff issue. SCSO and ICE entered a 287(g) Task Force Model memorandum dated February 26, 2025. Under such an agreement, trained and certified personnel perform specified functions under ICE supervision. ICE separately explains that a detainer asks a jail to notify ICE before release and maintain custody for up to 48 additional hours so DHS can assume custody.

The ICE detainer explanation defines that request. A detainer is not the same as a criminal conviction, an ICE removal order, or proof of later immigration detention. Read the SCSO release record for the actual transfer and use ODLS for the receiving system.

A bond payment, dismissal, time-served event, or county release order may resolve the local custody basis while an immigration handoff still follows. Families should not treat the anticipated county exit time as a pickup appointment when a record identifies an ICE hold. Booking must complete its checks, and the receiving authority may control the next movement.

Note: The county record establishes departure from SCSO; the ICE record establishes what happened in immigration custody.

ICE Release Records Requests

Use ICE FOIA for agency records that the public locator does not provide. Personal immigration records commonly require identity verification, consent, or authorization. A useful request supplies the A-number, full name, date and country of birth, custody dates, known facilities, and the exact document or event sought. Ask for existing custody, transfer, or release records rather than asking staff to create an explanation.

The Sarasota County side is requested from SCSO Records. Ask for the booking and release record, actual departure date and time, release authority, and receiving agency or destination if public. The immigration side belongs with ICE. A federal immigration court or other tribunal may hold legal case records that answer a different question from physical detention.

A-number

The immigration identifier used for a person’s federal record.

Detainer

A request tied to transfer or continued custody for another authority.

ODLS

ICE’s public Online Detainee Locator System.

DHS-VINE

The immigration custody notification service for eligible users.

Alternatives to Detention

ICE monitoring outside secure detention under stated terms.

Verify ICE Release Status

A sound verification matches the county booking, transfer date, A-number, ICE result, and any later release event. If ODLS reports a release, scope it to ICE custody. Ongoing immigration proceedings, required check-ins, or monitoring may remain. If no result appears, use the information line, counsel, or authorized records route rather than declaring release.

Federal criminal custody requires BOP or U.S. Marshals sources, not ODLS. State prison custody requires FDC. Another county requires that sheriff. The Sarasota County release record path helps establish which agency received the person after the local episode.

ODLS recent-release coverage has a limited time frame. An older departure may require ICE records, the immigration case file, or counsel even when the A-number is correct. A transfer within ICE can also change the facility without ending federal immigration custody. Repeat the current locator check before travel or a time-sensitive contact.

Do not post A-numbers or sensitive personal facts without lawful reason. Dynamic custody data can change. Preserve the date checked and the exact agency wording when the fact matters, then obtain the source record for formal proof. An authorized ICE record request can preserve the event after the locator window closes and distinguish release from an internal transfer.