ICE Network Release Records
Immigration and Customs Enforcement handles federal civil immigration custody through a network of detention sites and Enforcement and Removal Operations offices. No dedicated ICE detention center was identified in Smith County. A local arrest does not by itself make ICE relevant.
Use this branch when the Smith County booking/release record shows an immigration detainer, ICE transfer, or another supported immigration-custody event. A detainer is an agency request to hold or transfer a person. When the Sheriff records a transfer to ICE, Smith County custody has ended, but community release has not occurred.
Search ICE Detainee Records
The Online Detainee Locator System offers two main search routes. One uses the person's A-number and country of birth. The other uses biographical details, including name, date of birth, and country information. Enter the exact details shown in the official paperwork when possible.
- Obtain the Smith County release disposition and look for an ICE or immigration recipient.
- Collect the A-number from lawful case or agency paperwork when available.
- Search the locator by A-number and country of birth, or use the biographical route.
- Compare the result with the person's identity and the transfer timeline.
- If no result appears, use the ERO or facility contact path and request the relevant custody record.
Do not make broad guesses about citizenship or status from a name. The immigration locator is appropriate only when the facts support that jurisdiction. A no-result may reflect a spelling mismatch, transfer lag, release, removal, a record outside public display, or another system limit.
ICE Detainee Search Fields
The A-number route depends on a federal immigration identifier and country of birth. The biographical route uses name, date of birth, and country details offered by the live interface. Each field helps narrow identity, but the locator is not a criminal-court disposition database.
| Search element | Purpose | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| A-number | Matches an immigration record identifier | Must be entered accurately |
| Country of birth | Required identity pairing for the number route | Does not establish legal status |
| Name | Supports a biographical search | Spelling order and variants matter |
| Date of birth | Helps distinguish similar names | A no-match remains unresolved |
| Displayed location | Provides the locator's custody lead | Must be confirmed if timing is critical |
The research could not confirm a current official retention window for former detainee results because the explanatory source was inaccessible. Do not repeat a fixed number of days from secondary claims. When a former detainee disappears from the locator, use ERO, the named facility, or a properly directed records request.
Smith County ICE Transfers
The Smith County Detention Center holds both pretrial and sentenced adults. A person may otherwise qualify for release on bond, time served, or dismissal yet remain subject to an immigration detainer. The county release record should identify the actual disposition and receiving agency when that field is public.
Ask for the booking number, actual release date and time, disposition, and destination. If the entry says ICE, keep the language precise: released from Smith County custody and transferred to immigration custody. Then use ICE channels for the later event. The county Sheriff cannot certify what ICE did after transfer.
If the entry does not support immigration involvement, do not search this system as a routine fallback. Use the current jail roster, state MDOC records, federal criminal channels, or court record according to the actual case.
Note: Release from a criminal case does not cancel a separate immigration detainer recorded by the holding agency.
ICE Release Result Meaning
The locator is designed to help locate a person in immigration detention. It does not decide the Smith County criminal case and does not provide a county-style historical release list. A displayed location is a lead to present detention. An absent match is not an affirmative release finding.
| Finding | Safe reading | Next record |
|---|---|---|
| ICE location displayed | Locator points to immigration detention | Confirm with facility or ERO |
| County entry says ICE transfer | County custody ended by transfer | Follow ICE custody record |
| No locator match | No public match was found | Check identity and contact ERO |
| ICE release documented | ICE custody ended as recorded | Review conditions and any other jurisdiction separately |
Even an ICE release applies only to immigration custody. If a separate state or federal criminal matter exists, check its owner. Avoid broad statements that the person is free from all custody.
ICE Release Contact Route
No local ICE facility address or telephone belongs in the Smith County sidebar because no dedicated local site was found. Use the official ICE locator and the ERO or facility lookup connected to the result. When the locator gives no facility, use the official agency contact channel rather than inventing a nearby office.
ICE / ERO Detention NetworkFederal civil immigration custody system
No dedicated Smith County facility found
Use the official detainee locator and ERO contact lookup
Local address and phone: not published because no local facility was identified
The Smith County Sheriff remains the contact for the county booking/release sheet. ICE or ERO owns the later immigration record. A federal immigration court record may explain proceedings but is separate from the detention movement itself.
Request ICE Release Records
When the locator no longer returns a former detainee, ask the responsible ICE office or record channel for existing documents that show detention location, transfer, or release. Provide the A-number when lawfully available, the full name, date of birth, and a focused date range. Ask only for the fields needed to confirm the event.
A request should not ask ICE to create a narrative it does not keep. Seek the existing release, transfer, or custody record and request an electronic copy when available. If information is withheld, ask for the legal basis and any separable public portion.
Pair the response with the Smith County entry when the timeline began at the jail. The two records should show county control ending and immigration custody beginning. If there is a gap, report the gap rather than filling it with an assumption.
ICE Custody Release Terms
Criminal and immigration terms can sound alike while describing different systems. A clear timeline defines each event by its record owner. That is especially important when a county court order and an immigration hold operate at the same time.
- Detainer
- A request from another authority to hold or transfer a person.
- Transfer
- A move between custodians rather than community release.
- A-number
- An identifying number used in federal immigration records.
- ERO
- Enforcement and Removal Operations, the ICE component involved in detention and removal operations.
- Release
- The end of one agency's custody event, subject to any other lawful hold.
The locator does not explain guilt, conviction, or the final outcome of a Smith County criminal case. Read the court docket for that legal history and the custodial record for physical movement.
ICE Versus County Release
The county roster covers current Smith County jail custody. MDOC covers state prison and community corrections. BOP and USMS cover federal criminal custody roles. ICE covers civil immigration detention. Each system can use status terms that apply only within its authority.
Begin with the last known custodian and follow the receiving agency stated in the record. If the Smith County entry says community release, do not add an ICE claim without evidence. If it says immigration transfer, do not call the county departure freedom. The Smith County release record overview provides the full jurisdiction sequence.
Note: Municipal arrest labels in Raleigh, Taylorsville, or Mize do not prove a separate city jail or an ICE destination.
ICE Locator No-Result Checks
Recheck the A-number, name order, spelling, date of birth, and country entry. Compare them with official documents. Then ask whether the transfer was recent enough for data lag or whether a different agency retained custody.
Do not turn a failed search into a release date. State that no public ICE locator match was found at the time checked. Use ERO or the responsible facility for current confirmation and a record request for historical confirmation.
This measured language also protects against mistaken identity. Immigration records can be sensitive, and only the minimum data needed for the inquiry should be shared.
Verify ICE Detainee Release
A reliable immigration timeline starts with documented jurisdiction. Use the Smith County release entry to establish an ICE transfer, the locator for a current lead, ERO or facility contact for confirmation, and an agency record for a past release. Add court records only for the legal proceedings they actually describe.
The final statement should stay narrow: transferred from Smith County to ICE, located in ICE detention, released from ICE on a documented date, or not found in the public locator. That approach confirms the known event without inventing a local ICE facility or claiming release from every system.