Wayne County ICE Release System
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates a federal civil immigration detention network. Physical custody may be anywhere in that network. Wayne County is the local arrest, residence, or transfer context, not proof that ICE holds the person in a county building. The ICE Online Detainee Locator System, known as ODLS, is the public starting point.
County, state, federal criminal, and immigration records answer different questions. WCSO confirms Wayne County jail custody. OTIS confirms covered MDOC custody and supervision. BOP covers federal prison records. ODLS addresses ICE detention and a limited recent-release period. A result from one system should not be used to fill a gap in another.
Immigration detention is not a criminal conviction. Avoid language that equates detention or an immigration hold with criminal guilt. The locator reports custody information. Separate immigration case-status and court channels address proceedings and outcomes.
Wayne County Release to ICE
A WCSO booking can end because ICE receives the person. That event should be written as “released from Wayne County custody to ICE,” if the WCSO record or agency confirmation supports it. The person has left the county jail but remains in another form of custody. Saying only “released” would hide the most important part of the event.
Check the county record first. Match the subject number, booking number, date, charges, and court docket. Look for an explicit transfer or receiving-agency field. If the public detail does not show the destination, call WCSO inmate information at 313-224-0797 and ask whether the entry identifies a transfer. A focused Wayne County FOIA request can seek any releasable receiving-agency field.
| Event | Correct source | Careful wording |
|---|---|---|
| WCSO custody ends | WCSO release record, call, or FOIA | Released from Wayne County custody. |
| ICE receives the person | Transfer field and ODLS | Transferred to ICE custody. |
| ICE custody later ends | ODLS, DRIL, or ICE release record | Released from ICE custody on the confirmed date. |
| Immigration case continues | Separate immigration case channel | Custody status does not decide the case outcome. |
Note: A single person can have separate Wayne County and ICE release dates, each tied to a different custodian.
Search a Wayne County ICE Detainee
The ICE Online Detainee Locator offers two search routes. The strongest uses the exact nine-digit A-number with country of birth. The biographical route requires exact first and last name plus country of birth, with date of birth available as an additional field. Accuracy matters because spelling, order, and country information affect the match.
- Use the exact nine-digit A-number when it is known.
- Enter country of birth with the A-number as the locator requires.
- If no A-number is available, enter the exact biographical name and country of birth.
- Add date of birth where the form offers it and the fact is known.
- Read the result as ICE custody information, not a complete immigration-case ruling.
- If unresolved, call the Detention Reporting and Information Line.
A no-result can reflect a spelling difference, a person under 18, recent processing, or the locator’s coverage limits. It should not be reported as proof of release. Recheck names and identifiers. If WCSO recorded a transfer but ODLS has no result, keep the county transfer fact separate while seeking ICE confirmation.
The Wayne County release-search paths show how to reconcile an agency transfer with county, court, MDOC, federal, and immigration records without collapsing them into one status.
ICE Recent Release Window
ICE’s attorney information resource states that ODLS includes people in current ICE detention and records for persons released from ICE custody within the last 60 days. It also covers people in Customs and Border Protection custody for more than 48 hours. This creates a real recent-release window that the Wayne County Sheriff’s public tools do not offer by name.
The 60-day statement concerns locator coverage, not a promise that every search will return a record or every field will appear at once. A recently processed release may require direct confirmation. After the stated window, seek the ICE record or use the relevant case channel rather than declaring that the detention never occurred.
The official ICE attorney resource provides the locator coverage detail used for the recent-release window.
ICE Detainee Release Search Fields
ODLS uses fewer public inputs than a county booking inquiry. Those fields are designed to locate a detention record, not to explain the full proceeding. Preserve the exact identity data and search date used.
| Field | Role in the search |
|---|---|
| A-number | Exact nine-digit immigration identifier used with country of birth. |
| Country of birth | Required identity field for both locator routes. |
| First and last name | Exact biographical search when the A-number is unavailable. |
| Date of birth | Optional biographical refiner when known. |
| Custody or release result | ICE’s locator status, subject to processing and coverage limits. |
Do not substitute a WCSO subject number, MDOC number, or BOP register number for an A-number. Those identifiers belong to other systems. A person can possess more than one agency number, so keep a simple timeline that names which number came from which custodian.
- A-number
- An immigration-system identifier, formatted as nine digits for the locator search.
- Detainer
- A request or hold-related mechanism that can lead to another agency receiving custody.
- ODLS
- ICE’s public Online Detainee Locator System.
- DRIL
- The Detention Reporting and Information Line for basic location and case questions.
ICE Detainee Release Contact
When ODLS is inconclusive, call ICE’s Detention Reporting and Information Line. The research lists DRIL at 888-351-4024, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern, excluding holidays. Hours can change, so check the official ICE resource before relying on them.
ICE detention release routeOnline Detainee Locator System
Detention Reporting and Information Line: 888-351-4024
Weekdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern, excluding holidays
Have the A-number, country of birth, exact name, date of birth, and any transfer date ready. Ask a narrow question: whether the person is currently in ICE custody, whether the locator covers a recent release, and which office holds releasable custody information. Do not ask WCSO to interpret an immigration case after county custody has ended.
For formal proof, request the appropriate ICE custody or release record through the federal process identified by ICE. For a county-to-ICE transfer, obtain the WCSO release or transfer entry as a separate record. The two documents describe different portions of the timeline.
Note: Direct ICE contact is most useful after exact locator searches fail, especially when a county transfer has already been confirmed.
Confirm an ICE Detainee Release
A reliable conclusion depends on the question. To prove Wayne County custody ended, use WCSO. To prove ICE held or released the person, use ODLS, DRIL, or an ICE record. To understand the immigration proceeding, use the separate case-status or court route. None of these sources alone proves every stage.
- Match the correct WCSO booking and record any receiving agency.
- Search ODLS by exact A-number and country of birth.
- Try the exact biographical route if the number is not available.
- Call DRIL when processing, spelling, or coverage may explain no result.
- Request durable records from each agency for the portion it controls.
- Write each release with the agency name and date.
Successive custody is the central Wayne County risk. WCSO may release to ICE. ICE may later release the person. Another county, state, or federal custodian may also appear in between. A timeline is clearer than one broad label and avoids suggesting that “released” always means a return to the community.
Wayne County ICE Release Locations
Wayne County began operating its new Criminal Justice Center at 5301 Russell Street in September 2024. The CJC is the current county jail and court campus, not an ICE detention facility. A WCSO record can show release or transfer there, but an ICE placement may be elsewhere in the federal detention network. Do not treat a county address as the immigration release point unless an ICE record says so.
Older search results may also name the Detroit Reentry Center or its former Ryan identity. MDOC closed that state facility in 2021, so it is not a current ICE or Wayne County release location. The official CJC overview resolves the current local campus, while ODLS and ICE contacts resolve immigration custody. Dates and agency names keep those locations from being merged.
Wayne County ICE Search Limits
People under 18 may not appear in the same public locator workflow. Recent processing can delay a result. Exact spelling and country information can block a match. The published 60-day released-record window is finite. These limits make a negative result ambiguous.
MI-VINE is a Michigan custody notification layer and should not be promised as the federal ICE locator. The BOP locator concerns federal prison custody, not civil immigration detention. OTIS concerns Michigan corrections. Keeping these boundaries visible is more useful than offering one search box as if it covered all agencies.
Report only what can be traced: “WCSO recorded a transfer to ICE,” “ODLS showed current ICE custody,” or “ICE reported release from its custody.” Avoid statements about guilt, immigration relief, removal, or unrestricted freedom unless the proper official record supports that separate fact.