ICE detention, bond and habeas corpus
ICE detention: when a family member is held, finding them, bond, and federal court options.
If someone is in ICE custody right now, call now and say it is urgent, with their full name, date and country of birth and A-number if you have it.
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Is this the right route?
Find the person first with ICE's Online Detainee Locator, using the A-number or the name, date and country of birth. An immigration judge can review ICE's bond decision, and a bond must be at least $1,500. Since 5 September 2025, the BIA has held that judges cannot grant bond to people present without admission. A habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. 2241 asks a federal judge to review the detention; the filing fee is $5.
Who it's for Families of people held by ICE and people detained after a removal order.
Key requirements
- Find the person: ICE Online Detainee Locator (A-number, or name and country of birth)
- Bond: at least $1,500 if set; many who entered without admission get no bond hearing now
- Habeas corpus: a federal judge reviews whether the detention is lawful (28 U.S.C. 2241)
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How it works
Find the person with the ICE Online Detainee Locator. If they do not appear, call the ICE field office for the area.
Get the A-number. It is printed on DHS and immigration-court papers, and EOIR's case line (1-800-898-7180) gives the next hearing date with it.
Find out whether ICE set a bond or no bond, and under which statute the person is held.
If a bond hearing is available, ask the immigration court for one and gather proof of ties and a sponsor.
If the judge sets bond, a U.S. citizen or permanent resident can post it through ICE CeBONDS by Fedwire or ACH.
If no bond hearing is available, or the detention may be unlawful, a federal habeas petition may be filed where the person is held.
Watch the deadlines: a BIA appeal from a bond decision within 10 calendar days, and a petition for review within 30 days of a final removal order.
Typical times
- Locator still lists a released personUp to 60 days after release [1]
- Bond posted through CeBONDS: verificationAbout 1–2 hours, Mon–Fri 9 a.m.–3 p.m. in the detention time zone [4]
- Release after the bond is approvedTypically by the end of the day [4]
- Appeal a judge's bond decision to the BIA10 calendar days [7]
- Habeas: the government's return to the court's order3 days; up to 20 days for good cause [13]
- Habeas: hearing after the returnWithin 5 days, unless more time for good cause [13]
- Removal period after a final order90 days [16]
- Post-order review of whether removal is likelySix-month period from the start of the removal period [17]
- Petition for review of a final removal order30 days [18]
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ICE detention and habeas: questions people ask
What is habeas corpus in immigration?
Habeas corpus in immigration is a petition to a federal district court that asks whether a person's detention is lawful (28 U.S.C. 2241). It reviews the detention, not the removal order, which is challenged by a petition for review within 30 days (8 U.S.C. 1252). Whether it fits depends on the facts.
How do I find someone in ICE detention?
To find someone in ICE detention, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator with the A-number, or the name, date of birth and country of birth. It also shows people released in the last 60 days. People under 18 do not appear, and new arrests may take time. An attorney can help if the person is not listed.
How much is ICE bond?
An ICE bond must be at least $1,500 when a bond is set (8 U.S.C. 1226(a)). U.S. citizens, permanent residents, law firms and nonprofits can post it through ICE's CeBONDS system, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Release usually follows by the end of the day. The amount depends on the case.
Can someone in ICE detention get a bond hearing?
It depends on the law the person is held under. Since the BIA's Matter of Yajure Hurtado decision of 5 September 2025, judges cannot grant bond to people present without admission, and the Fifth Circuit agreed in February 2026. Merit Law LLP reviews the detention facts.
How long does a habeas corpus petition take?
A habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. 2241 has statutory steps: the government answers within 3 days (up to 20 for good cause), and a hearing follows within 5 days. The filing fee is $5. Real timing varies by court and case, and the court decides the result.
05
Who handles your case
We find out where and under which law the person is held, whether a bond hearing or a habeas petition fits.
Is it a delayed USCIS case (mandamus) instead? Start here
Nora Busra Turan
Partner · Attorney
Beyza Candelen
Attorney
Documents to prepare
- Full name and any other names used, date of birth, country of birth and A-number.
- Where and when the person was arrested, and the detention facility if known.
- Every paper ICE or the court gave them: Notice to Appear (Form I-862), custody or bond notices, any removal order or order of supervision (Form I-220B).
- Passport, visa, I-94, any parole document, and USCIS receipt notices for pending applications.
- Proof of ties for bond: lease or deed, pay stubs or tax records, U.S. citizen or permanent-resident family, and a sponsor's letter with ID.
- Certified court records with the final outcome of any arrest or criminal charge.
- The bond sponsor's own ID: a U.S. passport, birth certificate, naturalization certificate, REAL ID or green card (ICE's list).
Common reasons for refusal or delay
- No bond hearing: since Matter of Yajure Hurtado (2025), people present without admission are generally refused an immigration-judge bond hearing, and the Fifth Circuit upheld this on 6 February 2026.
- Flight-risk findings: the BIA has relied on inconsistent addresses and missed change-of-address notices in 2025–2026 bond decisions.
- Danger findings: the BIA has treated recent arrests, not only convictions, as showing danger to the community.
- Transfers: ICE can move a person to another facility, which can change the immigration court and the federal district.
- Missed deadlines: 10 calendar days for a BIA bond appeal, 30 days for a petition for review.
- The wrong tool: a habeas petition cannot be used to review a removal order itself (8 U.S.C. 1252(a)(5)).
When this is not the right route
- Challenging the removal order itself: a petition for review in the court of appeals, not habeas.
- Asylum or other relief in immigration court: see asylum and removal defense.
- Arrest on an extradition request: see extradition and INTERPOL.
- A USCIS case that has stalled, with no one in detention: see mandamus lawsuits for delayed USCIS cases.
Full details
Who this is for
- Families of someone arrested by ICE and held in detention.
- People refused a bond hearing because they entered without admission.
- People held after a final removal order whose removal is not happening.
Key requirements
- Locating someone: the ICE Online Detainee Locator needs the person's full name and A-number, or date of birth and country of birth. It shows people in ICE custody and people released within the last 60 days. People under 18 do not appear, and new arrests may take time to appear.
- Bond: ICE makes the first custody decision, and an immigration judge can review it at the court that covers the place of detention (8 CFR 1003.19). If bond is set, the law requires at least $1,500 (8 U.S.C. 1226(a)).
- Who gets a bond hearing changed in 2025–2026. In Matter of Yajure Hurtado (decided 5 September 2025), the BIA held that immigration judges cannot hear bond requests from people present in the U.S. without admission.
- The Fifth Circuit, which covers Texas, agreed with that reading on 6 February 2026 (Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi) and reversed orders that had required bond hearings.
- On 1 October 2026 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2)(A) requires the detention of people present without admission (Rhoney v. Barbosa da Cunha, No. 26-104). No decision had been issued on 16 October 2026.
- Habeas corpus: a written, verified petition to a federal district court that names the official holding the person and asks the court to review whether the detention is lawful (28 U.S.C. 2241, 2242).
- Habeas does not review the removal order itself. A final removal order is reviewed by petition for review in the court of appeals, filed within 30 days (8 U.S.C. 1252).
- After a final removal order, the removal period is 90 days (8 U.S.C. 1231). Release reviews then ask whether removal is likely in the reasonably foreseeable future, with a six-month period in the regulations (8 CFR 241.13).
- A USCIS case that has stalled, with no one in detention, is a different court route: see mandamus lawsuits for delayed USCIS cases.
What to check with an attorney
- Under which law the person is held (8 U.S.C. 1225, 1226 or 1231), because that decides whether a bond hearing is possible.
- Whether there is a final removal order, a pending appeal or an upcoming court date.
- Which federal district the person is held in, since ICE can move people and the habeas petition names the official who holds them.
Sources and review date
Fees and rules reviewed 16 Oct 2026. Sources below.
Official sources:
- ICE: Attorney information and resources (detainee locator)
- ICE: Locating individuals in detention
- EOIR: Case status information line
- ICE: Bonds and CeBONDS
- 8 U.S.C. 1226
- 8 CFR 1003.19 (custody and bond)
- 8 CFR 1003.38 (appeal deadlines)
- BIA: Matter of Yajure Hurtado, 29 I&N Dec. 216 (2025)
- EOIR: BIA precedent decisions, volume 29
- Fifth Circuit: Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, No. 25-20496 (6 Feb 2026)
- Supreme Court: Rhoney v. Barbosa da Cunha, No. 26-104 (docket)
- 28 U.S.C. 2241
- 28 U.S.C. 2243
- 28 U.S.C. 1914 (filing fees)
- U.S. Courts: District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
- 8 U.S.C. 1231
- 8 CFR 241.13
- 8 U.S.C. 1252
What changed: mandamus and APA delay lawsuits for stalled USCIS cases moved to their own page; this page keeps ICE detention, bond and habeas.
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