What Happens in the First 48 Hours After an ICE Arrest
The first 48 hours after an ICE arrest are the most critical and the most confusing for both the person who was detained and their family. Decisions made (or not made) in these hours can have lasting consequences on a person's ability to fight their case, bond out, or ultimately stay in the country.
This guide is designed to help you understand what is actually happening behind the scenes when someone is taken into ICE custody, and what you and your loved ones should be doing in real time.
This is not legal advice. Every case is different. But knowledge is power, and understanding the process is your first line of defense.
Hour 0–6: The Arrest
What Does an ICE Arrest Look Like?
ICE arrests happen in many ways. Someone might be stopped on the street, picked up from their home in an early morning raid, detained after a traffic stop, or transferred from a local jail. ICE may also arrest people as they leave a courthouse, a hospital, or even a churchh. Enforcement practices vary and are constantly shifting.
Regardless of how it happens, the immediate aftermath is often chaotic and frightening. The person being detained may not fully understand what is happening or where they are being taken. This is by design.
Booking and Processing
Once someone is in ICE custody, they are typically taken to an ICE processing center or a local jail or detention facility with which ICE has a contract (called an "intergovernmental service agreement" or IGSA). There, they will be photographed and fingerprinted, searched and their belongings confiscated, entered into ICE's database (EARM: Enforcement and Removal Management), assigned an Alien Registration Number (A-Number) if they don't already have one, and given a Form I-200 (Warrant for Arrest of Alien) or Form I-205 (Warrant of Removal/Deportation) depending on their situation.
Critical: The ICE Warrant Is Not a Criminal Warrant
ICE administrative warrants (Form I-200 or I-205) are NOT the same as criminal warrants signed by a judge. This matters because an administrative warrant does not give ICE the authority to enter a locked home without consent. If ICE came to your home and did not have a judicial warrant signed by a federal judge, your attorney needs to know this. It may be the basis for a legal challenge.
Will They Be Held Locally or Transferred?
This is the question families ask most often, and it's one of the hardest to answer quickly. ICE may keep someone in a local facility for processing, or they may transfer them to a dedicated immigration detention center, sometimes hundreds of miles away. Transfers can happen without notice to the family or even to an attorney, and they can happen fast.
In the DMV area, people may be held at facilities including the Caroline Detention Facility, Farmville, Baltimore Holding Center, or transferred to facilities in other states entirely. If you cannot locate your loved one, use the ICE detainee locator immediately (more on this below) and wait for their call.
Hour 6–24: The Critical Window
Contact an Immigration Attorney
The single most important thing a family can do in the first 24 hours is find an immigration attorney. Not a notario. Not an immigration consultant. A licensed attorney.
Here's why the first 24 hours matter so much legally:
Bond hearings can be requested, but they must be set up quickly and with the right arguments. The jurisdiction where someone is being held matters greatly in these cases.
ICE may try to process someone for "expedited removal" if they believe the person entered without status less than two years ago. This is a fast-track deportation with no hearing.
The government may push for a "reinstatement of removal" if the person has a prior deportation order, which comes with its own legal challenges.
Certain protections like asylum, VAWA, or special immigrant juvenile status require an attorney to identify and assert them before it's too late.
Many immigration attorneys offer emergency consultations. Do not wait until Monday morning. Do not wait until you have money saved up. Call now, explain the situation, and ask what can be done.
How to Find Your Loved One: ICE Detainee Locator
Visit locator.ice.gov. You will need their full legal name and country of birth (or their A-Number if you have it). The locator is updated regularly but is not always in real time. I generally tell clients not to expect accurate information until they are 48 hours in. If you can't find someone, keep checking and call an attorney, as a lawyer has additional tools to locate a detained client.
What Is the Detained Person Experiencing?
Inside the facility, the detained person will typically be given a medical intake screening and placed in a housing unit. They may or may not receive information about their rights. Under ICE's detention standards, facilities are required to provide access to a telephone, post information about free and low-cost legal services, allow visits (in facilities that permit visitation), and provide access to legal mail. It’s important to note that all calls are recorded unless they are designated as a confidential call with counsel.
In reality, these standards are not always met. Phone access may be limited or require payment. Legal service lists may be outdated. The detained person should know: do not sign anything without speaking to an attorney first. ICE may present forms in English that the person doesn't fully understand. Even if they technically know what the form is saying, they might not understand the full legal implications.
Tell Your Loved One: Do Not Sign Form I-826
Form I-826 is the "Notice to Alien Ordered Removed/Departure Verification.” Signing it can mean waiving the right to a hearing before an immigration judge. This is one of the most consequential documents a detained person can sign. An attorney must review it first.
What Rights Does a Detained Person Have?
Immigrants, regardless of status, have constitutional rights in the United States. These include:
The right to remain silent: you do not have to answer questions about where you were born, how you entered the country, or where you've lived.
The right to speak with an attorney: the government is not required to provide one in immigration court (unlike criminal court), but you have the right to hire one.
The right to an interpreter if you do not speak English.
The right to a hearing before an immigration judge, unless expedited removal or reinstatement of removal applies.
ICE will often try to obtain statements from the detained person during this period. Encourage your loved one to say clearly: "I want to speak with an attorney before answering any questions."
Hour 24–48: Legal Proceedings Begin
Will There Be a Bond Hearing?
Not everyone in ICE custody is eligible for bond. Whether bond is available depends on several factors: whether the person has a prior deportation order (if so, they may be subject to mandatory detention with no bond), whether ICE considers them a "flight risk" or a "danger to the community," the person's criminal history if any, and the specific charge of removability.
For those who are bond-eligible, an immigration attorney can request a bond hearing before an immigration judge. The attorney will present evidence that the person is not a flight risk (ties to the community, family members who are citizens or LPRs, length of time in the US, employment history ) and not a danger. If bond is granted, the family must pay the full bond amount. ICE does not offer payment plans.
Bond vs. Immigration Bond Companies
Unlike criminal bonds, there are very few immigration bail bondsmen. Many families must pay the full bond amount out of pocket or through fundraising. Some nonprofits offer bond funds for qualifying individuals.
What Is a Master Calendar Hearing?
If the detained person is not immediately removed and is placed into full removal proceedings, they will eventually have a Master Calendar Hearing. Essentially these are a scheduling and preliminary appearance before an immigration judge. This is not where the full case is decided; it is where the judge establishes the timeline, the charges, and the next steps.
In the first 48 hours, this hearing may not have been scheduled yet, but the process is being set in motion. The detained person may receive a Notice to Appear (NTA) which is the formal document charging them with removability. The NTA will list the legal basis for removal (e.g., "entered without inspection," "overstayed a visa," "convicted of a crime") and is the foundation of the government's case.
Possible Legal Defenses — What Your Attorney Is Looking For
A good immigration attorney begins evaluating possible defenses from the very first conversation. In the first 48 hours, they are asking questions like:
Does this person have any basis for relief like asylum, VAWA, cancellation of removal, adjustment of status?
Is there any U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member who could sponsor them?
Was the arrest itself lawful? Was consent obtained properly?
Does the person have any criminal history that needs to be addressed, and how does it affect their options?
Is there a prior order of removal, and was it entered in absentia — without the person present?
Could this be a habeas corpus situation?
Even cases that seem hopeless on the surface may have viable defenses. A detained person who arrived as a child, who has been in the country for over ten years, who has no criminal history, or who has a U.S. citizen child may have legal options that are not obvious. This is why attorney consultation is important in these early windows.
What Families Should Do Right Now: A Checklist
Find them. Use the ICE detainee locator at locator.ice.gov. You will need their full name and country of birth.
Call an immigration attorney. Do this before anything else. Many attorneys take emergency calls for detained individuals.
Tell your loved one their rights. If you can reach them by phone: stay silent, do not sign anything, ask for an attorney.
Gather documents. Collect any immigration paperwork, their A-Number, proof of community ties, family documents, and tax records. Your attorney will need these.
Do not go to ICE yourself without guidance. Family members with immigration status concerns should not go to an ICE facility without first speaking to an attorney.
Set up a safety plan for children. If the detained person has minor children, make sure there is a caregiver plan in place and consider signing a power of attorney for childcare.
Document everything. Write down every detail you know about the arrest: when, where, what was said, who was present, what documents were shown. This information may be legally important.
A Note on Expedited Removal
One of the most urgent scenarios an immigration attorney must identify quickly is whether a detained person is being processed for expedited removal. Expedited removal is a fast-track deportation process where immigration officers, not judges, can order someone removed without a hearing. It has historically applied to people encountered near the border who cannot prove more than 14 days of continuous presence, but recent executive actions have sought to expand its use to individuals encountered in the interior of the country.
The one critical protection: if the person expresses a fear of return to their home country, they must be referred to an asylum officer for a "credible fear interview." This is not optional on the government's part. It is legally required. The detained person should know: if they are afraid to return home, they must say so clearly.
A Note on Reinstatement of Removal
If your loved one was previously deported and returned to the United States, ICE may place them in "reinstatement of removal.” This means the prior deportation order is reactivated without a new hearing before an immigration judge. This is one of the most legally complex situations and one where experienced counsel is critical.
However, reinstatement of removal is not automatically the end of the road. People in reinstatement proceedings still have the right to a credible fear interview if they fear persecution or torture upon return, a withholding of removal hearing if the credible fear interview is passed, and potential habeas corpus relief if the prior removal order was unlawfully obtained. These cases are complicated. Do not assume nothing can be done.
Final Thoughts: You Are Not Alone
An ICE arrest feels like a sudden emergency because it is. The chaos, the fear, the uncertainty; all of it is real. But the first 48 hours are not just a time to panic. They are a time to act, and acting quickly and strategically can make an enormous difference.
At Slatton & Hass Immigration Advocates, we work with detained individuals and their families across the DMV region and nationwide. If your loved one has been arrested by ICE, contact us immediately. We can help you locate them, assess their situation, and build a strategy from the very first call.
This blog post is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Immigration law is complex and fact-specific. Please consult a licensed immigration attorney for advice regarding your specific situation.
