Where Do People Go After ICE Arrests Them?

As the Trump administration has intensified immigration enforcement operations in Chicago and other major cities, thousands of individuals, including many without criminal records, have been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies. 

The suddenness of these detentions underscores a system where due process is often out of reach, leaving families in a cycle of uncertainty, fear, and loss. For families and communities, understanding the process can be difficult, as every case can unfold differently. 

Diana Rashid, a managing attorney with the National Immigration Justice Center Detention Project, and Xanat Sobrevilla, an organizer with Organized Communities Against Deportations, witness the realities of detention firsthand. Rashid provides legal representation for detained individuals, while Sobrevilla answers emergency calls on OCAD’s Family Support Network and Hotline hotline, helping families navigate the uncertainty when a loved one is taken into custody. 

“A lot of the calls we receive are from families trying to find their loved ones after an ICE arrest,” Sobrevilla said. “They call because they don’t know where their relative has been taken or what to do next.” 

When ICE arrests someone in the Chicago area, they are first taken to a processing facility in Broadview, a suburb several miles west of the city limits. This facility is a short-term intake site, not a detention center. 

Chicago Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) handles ICE operations across Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Kentucky. Here, officials conduct fingerprinting, process legal paperwork, and determine whether a detainee will be released, assigned a bond, or transferred to a detention facility for further proceedings.

It is at such processing sites that ICE officials may ask individuals to sign voluntary departure documents, “which tells detainees they can leave the U.S. ‘voluntarily’ rather than being deported,” Rashid said. “But what many don’t realize is that signing this form means giving up the right to fight their case.” 

According to Rashid, some detainees unknowingly sign away their right to a hearing or agree to deportation without realizing it. She strongly advised people not to sign anything without consulting an attorney. 

While individuals are no longer detained at McHenry County or other Illinois jails since the signing of the Illinois Way Forward Act in 2021, those taken into custody now are transferred to out-of-state facilities contracted by ICE. These include facilities in Dodge County, Wisconsin; Clay County, Indiana; Boone County, Kentucky; and newly added locations such as Grayson County, Kentucky.

“Individuals detained within the Chicago area are initially sent to county jails with ICE contracts,” said Rashid. “But we’ve seen them get transferred out of the region to places like Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, or even Louisiana. There’s no set rule; it’s very arbitrary where people end up.” 

Rashid explained that detainees should have an opportunity to make their first phone call at the Broadview processing facility. But not all detainees are provided that right, according to Rashid. “We don’t see [not getting a phone call] as a common practice, but it can happen,” she said.

ICE did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

The detention system operates under shifting capacity needs, according to Rashid, meaning individuals may be transferred from one facility to another without warning. For example, detainees held at a facility in Clay County, Indiana may later be moved to out-of-state facilities; such transfers often complicate legal representation and family communication. 

In an interview with the Weekly, Manuel, an immigrant father from Back of the Yards who was detained in 2017, during the first Trump administration, and released in 2018. (We are using a pseudonym to protect his identity.) He shared that ICE officials attempted to pressure him into signing documents without legal representation. 

“They took me to one of their offices to take my fingerprints and have me sign some papers,” Manuel said. “They told me since I had already been deported once, they said I should sign the paper. They said, ‘Sign the paper, and either way, we’re going to deport you so you can leave quickly.’”

When he refused, ICE officials told him that his previous voluntary departure gave them the authority to deport him regardless of whether he signed the new paperwork. Manuel did not sign them.

At the processing center, Manuel said he also asked ICE officials if he could make a call to an attorney and his wife, but officials would not allow him. It wasn’t until he was transferred to the detention center in McHenry County that he was able to make those calls, he said.

Many detainees don’t have phone numbers memorized, making it difficult for them to contact their families. Families sometimes go weeks without hearing from their loved one because they didn’t receive a call or couldn’t reach anyone. “It’s one of the hardest parts… people just disappear into the system, and their families don’t know where they are,” Rashid said.

When a family member is detained, they can locate their relatives using ICE’s online detainee locator (locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search), which requires either the individual’s A-number (Alien Registration Number) or an exact match of their name, country of birth, and date of birth. However, due to data entry errors and inconsistencies officials make, locating individuals can be challenging, Rashid explained. 

Another option to locate loved ones once they are arrested and detained is by sending an email to the Broadview Client Locator (bit.ly/Client_Locator). Family members can also try contacting individual ICE detention centers, whose locations and contact information can be found online at ice.gov/detention-facilities. 

Manuel said calls from detention were costly and it was initially confusing as to how to use the call system. “At first, when you arrive, the normal thing is that, as there are already many immigrants like you, you can ask them: Can you let me get a call?” he recalled. And with that, he was able to contact his family.

Sobrevilla said that the detention system is also profitable for some. “There are private companies that contract with ICE to provide phone services inside detention centers, and they charge extremely high fees for calls.”

She said a ten-minute call can cost $10 to $15, making it hard for families to stay in touch. “Families need to call the detention center to find out how to add money to their account,” she said. Each facility has its own process for setting up phone accounts so that relatives can call. Sobrevillae said to pay for phone calls, and basic necessities, detainees rely on commissary accounts, often funded by family members sending money. Some detainees are placed in work programs, earning as little as $1 per day. 

Once in detention, individuals are placed in removal proceedings before the Chicago Immigration Court at 55 E. Monroe unless their case is transferred to another jurisdiction due to relocation. Families of those with an upcoming hearing can find information in the Automated Case Information System (acis.eoir.justice.gov). Hearings take place typically via video at the Chicago Immigration Court and families can find more information on their website (justice.gov/eoir/chicago-immigration-court).

Rashid stressed that people with prior deportation orders, expedited removal, or reinstatement of removal don’t get a hearing—ICE can deport them right away. 

For those granted bonds, the minimum amount is $1,500, with “no upper limit,” Rashid said. The full amount must be paid before release, after which their case transitions to a “non-detained court docket,” meaning they must continue attending immigration hearings or risk a deportation order. 

The bond process is complicated, and when speaking with families, Sobrevilla advises them to have an attorney request a bond rather than the individuals themselves. “Typically, we tell people not to ask for the bond by themselves,” she said. Legal expertise is crucial in these cases, as a lawyer can present the request strategically, increasing the chances of release while avoiding potential risks.

Bond eligibility depends on several factors, Rashid explained. Some individuals, including those with prior removal orders or recent border crossings, are not eligible. Their criminal background can also make detainees ineligible for bond. “If someone has certain convictions, especially those considered ‘aggravated felonies’ under immigration law, they are subject to mandatory detention and cannot be granted bond by a judge,” Rashid said. 

The Laken Riley Act (LRA), passed by Congress in January, adds even more offenses that can make someone ineligible for bond, including non-violent crimes like burglary or retail theft. Being placed in the error-ridden gang database has also exposed people to immigration proceedings in the past.

Rashid said that the reality on the ground is different from what ICE says. “People without criminal records are being detained, and those who should be eligible for bond are being denied,” she said. “Right now, no one is safe from enforcement.”

What if immigration agents  enter someone’s home without a warrant—could they argue that their rights were violated? Rashid explained that such arguments are most effective for individuals who have never had prior contact with immigration authorities. “But that’s rare,” she noted, “because most undocumented individuals have some immigration history, even if it was just an interaction at the border.”

She added that many people detained in home raids never even get the chance to see an immigration judge. “If they already have a prior removal order, ICE can deport them immediately without court proceedings. In those cases, there’s no opportunity to challenge an unlawful entry because they don’t get a hearing at all.”

If an individual receives a final removal order, they are returned to Broadview Processing Center before being transported to an airport for deportation. Families need to coordinate with ICE officers to confirm the drop-off time and what items are permitted. They are allowed to drop off soft-shell luggage and money at Broadview before a loved one is deported. The restrictions on bag type, weight, and timing make it important for families to coordinate with ICE officers in advance. “The process is very early in the morning, usually around 4AM or 5AM,” Rashid said.

From there, they are transported to the Gary, Indiana airport, and flown to facilities near the U.S.–Mexico border, “where they are then walked over the border,” Rashid said. For Central and South Americans, “they are usually transferred to Louisiana, where ICE gathers enough detainees to fill a removal flight to their home country,” she said. The timing depends on how many people are waiting to be deported, so some may be detained longer.

ICE does not track or monitor deported individuals after removal, according to Rashid. Once they arrive in their home country, they are on their own. The only exception is for those who left under voluntary departure, who must report their departure to the U.S. embassy to avoid a removal order.

She said Mexican nationals are left at the border, and oftentimes the Mexican government will bus them to their home countries; sometimes they have to find their way home. For others, ICE flies them to the capital city of their country and releases them at the airport with no further supervision. 

Manuel had a clear message for anyone going through the detention process. “The most important thing is not to sign any papers or say anything without a lawyer,” he said. “They want to make us disappear into the system, but we are still here, I am still here.”

Alma Campos is a senior editor for the Weekly.