U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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Editor’s Note, 1/6/2026: This article was originally published on Jan. 27, 2025 and has been edited and updated for timeliness and to include current information.
Within the first week of President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, hundreds of immigrants were detained and shipped away via military aircraft in what was merely the beginning of what the president has said will be the “largest deportation operation” in American history.
Soon thereafter, 84 people from North Texas cities, including Dallas, Irving and Garland were arrested in what authorities described as “targeted enforcement operations.” As a result, organizations across the country have been preparing, informing vulnerable communities on what to do if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) comes knocking on their doors.
By the end of 2025, more than 68,000 people were being detained in ICE facilities, including a large percentage of detainees with no prior criminal record. In 2026, Texas county sheriff’s departments that operate a jail must participate in the federal 287(g) program, which requires these departments to assist ICE in the arrest, processing, and detention of immigrants for possible deportation.
As of 2023, 1.4 million U.S. citizens in Texas lived with at least one undocumented family member. But what do you do if someone close to you is apprehended in a raid?
Here are some steps to take if a loved one is detained by ICE:
Locate Your Loved One
Upon arrest, ICE will assign an eight- or nine-digit identifier, known as an A-number. If your loved one has submitted an immigration application, they’ll already have an A-number, and it can be found on any documents from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. If you don’t have access to this number, you can also use the loved one’s country of origin, date of birth and full legal name to locate them on the ICE locator portal. The ICE locator portal provides crucial information on where someone is being held, allowing you to begin coordinating visitation.
Visit Your Loved One
Some detention facilities allow in-person visitation, but others only video visitation. Call ahead to determine the visitation schedule and procedures, and have the detainee’s biographical information handy. You must be on a detainee’s visitation list to see them. If you are visiting in person, bring your documentation because some facilities require government-issued identification to enter.
Visitation hours differ at each facility and are listed online. The Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado, 39 miles south of Dallas, accepts visitors 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday. This detention facility, the Dallas field office, requires identification verification to visit.
Establish Regular Communication
You can set up a phone account for your loved one. This way, detainees can contact others, as well as legal counsel, at their convenience. Each facility has different regulations, but you can call the detention centers directly to set up a phone account according to the guidelines.
Contact A Lawyer
Undocumented immigrants do not have the right to counsel granted by the Sixth Amendment, but they do have the right to consult with a lawyer. Detainees can request a list of low-cost or free legal options, and requesting time to find counsel can delay the court proceedings a few weeks. Most detainees have the right to request a court hearing before an immigration judge to apply for relief from removal. Those with outstanding removal orders, prior deportations, aggravated felony offenses or expedited removal orders are not eligible for a court hearing.
Gather Paperwork, Report Raids and Seek Help
Collect any information you possibly can. Gather prior immigration applications and receipts, and all communication from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Obtain any police reports, charging documents and sentencing documents that may be relevant. Write down as much information about the raid as possible, including the location, the officers involved and other details that can be beneficial later.
Several cities, including Dallas, have networks dedicated to monitoring potential ICE raids. The Illinois Coalition for Immigration and Refugee Rights offers a 24-hour hotline, available in both English and Spanish, to provide support to families facing deportation. The hotline is available at 855-HELP-MY-FAMILY (855-435-7693).
