ICE Detention and Oakland Releases
ICE detention is federal civil immigration custody. It is separate from a criminal sentence, Michigan prison custody, and an Oakland County Jail booking. A person can finish or leave one criminal custody event and immediately enter immigration detention. The county record may therefore use release language even though the person did not return to the community.
No official evidence was found that Oakland County Jail currently operates under an ICE detention contract. That fact must not be expanded into a claim that ICE transfers never occur. An individual lawful detainer or federal action can still affect a scheduled county release. The person may be moved into ICE's wider detention network.
CLEMIS shows the Oakland booking event. ICE's Online Detainee Locator System, called ODLS, addresses immigration detention. Court and immigration case records may provide additional legal context. Each source should be identified by agency because its dates and status phrases are not interchangeable.
Oakland Release or ICE Transfer
Oakland supplies a clear scheduled-outdate procedure. The pickup person checks at the Bonding window, and staff run a current LEIN check. A hold, warrant, or detainer can stop the planned community exit. When ICE or another authority assumes custody, the Oakland booking ends but confinement continues elsewhere.
The CLEMIS Released Date proves that the county booking recorded an end event. It does not alone describe the destination. Ask OCSO Records for the releasable release disposition, releasing authority, and public transfer destination. Compare that result with ODLS rather than treating roster disappearance as proof of community release.
| Record | Question it answers | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| CLEMIS Released Date | When the Oakland booking ended | Does not establish the next custodian |
| OCSO release disposition | Whether public fields show release or transfer | Some operational information may be restricted |
| ICE ODLS result | Whether the person is located in searchable ICE detention data | No result is inconclusive |
| DRIL inquiry | Basic case or detention help when the web search fails | Third-party access may require authorization |
Search Oakland ICE Custody
The ICE Online Detainee Locator System offers two public search modes. The identifier route uses the person's A-number and country of birth. The biographical route uses exact first name, exact last name, country of birth, and an optional date of birth. Exact entries matter. Nicknames, reversed names, hyphens, spaces, transliteration, or an incorrect country can prevent a match.
- Use the A-number route when the nine-digit immigration identifier and country of birth are known.
- Otherwise enter the exact first and last names, country of birth, and birth date when available.
- Try documented name forms rather than broad guessing. Record every spelling used and the search time.
- Read the result only as ICE custody information. Compare it with the Oakland release disposition.
- If no match appears, call DRIL for help with spelling, timing, transfer, or basic detention questions.
People under eighteen are not searchable in ODLS. That restriction is not a statement about whether custody or placement exists. Juvenile and child information requires the lawful family, attorney, or agency process and must not be placed into an adult release roster.
Oakland ICE Detention Phone Check
ICE's Detention Reporting and Information Line, commonly called DRIL, is the fallback for unresolved web searches and basic case or detention help. The number is 1-888-351-4024. Research lists service Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.
1-888-351-4024
Monday through Friday, excluding holidays
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern
Have the full legal name, documented variants, A-number when available, country of birth, date of birth, and approximate Oakland custody date ready. Explain that the county booking may have ended in transfer. Do not assume the call taker can disclose protected information to any caller.
A third-party inquiry may require a privacy waiver or an attorney's Form G-28. These authorization rules can limit the answer even when the person is in ICE custody. Counsel and properly authorized family channels are important when the public locator is insufficient.
Why ICE Searches Miss Records
An empty ODLS result has several possible explanations. The name may not match the exact database form. A-number digits or country of birth may be wrong. Recent intake or transfer may not yet appear. The person may be under eighteen, removed, released from ICE, outside the public display, or held by another authority.
Repeat the search with documented spellings, not invented variations. Confirm the A-number from reliable paperwork. Call DRIL. Then compare OCSO and court records. If federal criminal custody is possible, check the federal docket and the separate U.S. Marshals route. If a state prison sentence is possible, use OTIS.
Do not describe a missing record as proof that ICE never held the person. Negative results across agency databases have narrow meanings. Record the date, input, and exact message so a later update can be evaluated.
ICE Civil Custody Explained
ICE detention concerns immigration proceedings and federal civil authority. It is not a Michigan criminal sentence. A criminal charge can be dismissed or a jail term completed while immigration custody continues under a different legal process. The two histories must be reported separately.
- Detainer
- A notice or request that may lead another authority to hold briefly or transfer a person under applicable law.
- A-number
- The immigration identifier used in the ODLS number search.
- Transfer
- A handoff between custodians, not a release to the community.
- Removal
- An immigration outcome that is different from release at an Oakland address.
- Privacy waiver
- Authorization that may allow information to be discussed with another person.
A BOP result stating Released or Not in BOP Custody can also precede ICE detention. BOP's monthly release statistics exclude certain departures to ICE detention or deportation. This is further reason to check the next jurisdiction instead of equating prison departure with community return.
Oakland Transfer Record Requests
When the Oakland County Jail event came first, a focused OCSO request can establish how that booking ended. Ask for the existing booking and release record, release date and time, release disposition, releasing authority, and public transfer destination. Include the full name, booking number when known, and approximate date range. Ask for electronic delivery and segregable portions if some material is exempt.
The OCSO Records Unit is at 1201 North Telegraph Road on the east side of the jail. It can be reached at 248-858-5011 or ocsorecords@oakgov.com and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with arrival requested at least 30 minutes before closing. The unit's $7 cash amount concerns available incident reports, not a guaranteed release-record fee.
Michigan FOIA generally calls for a written response within five business days and allows one written extension of up to ten business days. Fees may cover permitted search, review, redaction, copying, and mailing. Court records follow court access rules instead. A county response may identify a transfer but cannot serve as the current ICE location record.
Separate Federal Custody Systems
ICE, USMS, and BOP serve different roles. USMS manages federal court-ordered pretrial and transport custody and has no public inmate locator. BOP holds sentenced federal prisoners and publishes a nationwide locator. ICE handles civil immigration detention and publishes ODLS. Search the agency that matches the legal authority.
A person can pass through more than one system. An Oakland booking may lead to USMS custody. A BOP sentence may end before immigration detention. A state or local case can also coexist with a detainer. Build a timeline from agency records instead of combining all federal custody under one “released” label.
MI-VINE can send a custody-change notice for participating jail or corrections data, but it is not an ICE historical ledger. An alert should prompt an official agency check. OTIS does not cover ICE, and CLEMIS does not track the nationwide immigration system.
No Oakland ICE Facility Claim
The official research found no current Oakland County Jail ICE detention contract. It also found no basis to identify the county jail as an ICE facility. Pages and searches should not imply that a person in immigration custody remains at the Oakland jail.
At the same time, the absence of a contract does not eliminate individual detainers or transfers. ICE uses a broader detention network. ODLS or DRIL, not a guessed local facility name, is the correct location path once OCSO records indicate federal immigration involvement.
Physical distance from Oakland County also does not resolve legal status. Use the current federal record and authorized contacts. If a facility is named in an official result, verify its own contact and visitation information at that time rather than reusing county-jail procedures.
Confirm an ICE Custody Exit
Start with the Oakland release disposition when the county booking came first. Search ODLS with exact identifiers. Call DRIL when the result is missing or unclear. Use counsel or an authorized representative when privacy rules limit third-party information. Preserve each lookup date and exact status.
A genuine confirmation requires the agency responsible for the event. OCSO can establish the end of its booking. ICE can address immigration detention. A court or attorney can explain the legal proceeding. No single roster answers all three.
Note: An Oakland County release date and an ICE detention date can describe consecutive events rather than conflicting records.