Where Immigration Custody Releases Go
No official source reviewed identifies Winona County Detention Center as an ICE detention facility. No ICE detention center was identified in Winona County. Immigration Custody is therefore a federal system page, not a claim that a local ICE jail exists. Its role begins when facts suggest that a person who left WCDC may have entered ICE custody or when a person is already held somewhere in the national ICE detention network.
Several outcomes can follow county custody. A person may return to the community after the county matter permits release. Another agency may receive the person. ICE may take custody for a civil immigration process, which is distinct from the criminal case and sentence. A transfer ends WCDC's physical custody but is not community release. The county disposition and receiving-agency field should establish the handoff before the ICE locator is treated as relevant.
| Event | Custody meaning | Record to check |
|---|---|---|
| County release | WCDC custody ends; destination still needs proof | WCDC disposition and court file |
| ICE transfer | Federal civil detention may begin | County receiving agency and ICE locator |
| ICE release | ICE detention ends under the agency's process | ICE documentation and case channel |
| Another transfer | Custody moves to a different authority | Named receiving system |
Check Immigration Custody Status
The ICE Online Detainee Locator System, often called ODLS, searches current ICE detention. It offers two search methods. The most precise uses the A-number and country of birth. An A-number is the identification number assigned in immigration records. The other method uses name, date of birth, and country of birth.
- Choose A-number search when the number is known. Enter the number without relying on name spelling alone, then select the country of birth.
- If no A-number is known, enter the person's name as recorded, date of birth, and country of birth. Try accurate spelling variants when appropriate.
- Compare all returned details before treating the result as a match. Similar names can lead to the wrong person.
- Record the search date, displayed facility, and exact status wording. A recent intake or transfer may take time to appear.
- If no result is returned, call the Detention Reporting and Information Line or contact the relevant Enforcement and Removal Operations field office.
- Confirm the WCDC disposition separately when the question began with a Winona County roster exit.
Children may not appear in ODLS. A recent movement can also create a delay. A negative result therefore does not establish that ICE never received the person. It also does not prove community release. Use direct ICE contact and the local disposition when the timing is close or the identity details are incomplete.
The Winona County release search provides the full county, court, state, and federal fallback sequence when the receiving agency is unclear.
Confirm a Winona ICE Transfer
Start with WCDC when a name disappears from the current Winona roster linked through the Jail Programs page. Call the detention center with the full name and, when available, the booking number and date of birth. Ask whether the person remains there and whether the public disposition shows community release or an agency transfer. Staff may restrict details that are not public, but the release or disposition record is still the right documentary request.
A focused Minnesota Chapter 13 request made through Winona County's Data Practices policy and form should ask for the booking date and time, release or disposition date and time, disposition code and definition, and receiving agency or transfer destination if public. Do not label the event an ICE handoff unless the record or another official source supports that conclusion. No official local ICE contract or county detainer policy was found in the research.
| WCDC field to request | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Release date and time | Marks when county custody changed |
| Disposition code | Separates release from transfer |
| Receiving agency | Identifies ICE or another custodian when public |
| Court-order reference | Connects the jail event to the criminal case |
WCDC's current roster contains no release reason or transfer field. Side-by-side copies of that PDF cannot create one. VINE can report county custody changes, but a VINE transfer event is not a certified ICE record.
Immigration Custody Release Contacts
ICE operates a nationwide detention network through federal and contracted locations. There is no researched Winona County ICE facility address to publish. Use ODLS for the current location, then the listed detention facility or appropriate ERO office. When the locator fails, ICE's detention information channel provides the escalation route.
Online Detainee Locator System
Detention Reporting and Information Line
Relevant ERO field office
No identified ICE detention center in Winona County
The official ICE detention management page provides the Detention Reporting and Information Line and detention contacts. Supply the A-number when known, full name, date of birth, country of birth, and the last known facility. Ask for current location or the correct official route rather than assuming that a no-result screen proves release.
Note: A recent ICE intake or transfer may not appear at once, so verify identifiers and use the detention information line.
Immigration Release Is Separate
ICE detention is civil immigration custody. It is distinct from a Winona County criminal charge, a county jail sentence, a Minnesota prison sentence, and federal criminal imprisonment. The same person can move from one authority to another, and each agency's release word refers only to its own custody. That is why a county release record and ICE locator answer different questions.
- Detainer
- A request or legal basis connected to another authority's custody interest.
- Transfer
- Movement between custodians without a return to the community.
- A-number
- An identifier used in immigration records and ODLS searches.
- Discharge
- The end of an agency's jurisdiction as shown by the governing record.
A criminal court order can end the local reason for jail detention while a separate immigration process continues. Conversely, a person released by ICE may still have a pending Minnesota court case. Do not merge those events into one broad “case closed” statement.
Build Immigration Release Evidence
ODLS is designed for current location. It should not be presented as a permanent archive of immigration releases. For a historical question, collect the county release or transfer record, relevant immigration documents available to the person or authorized representative, and any public court record. Note the date each source was checked. The absence of a current locator result is too weak to stand alone.
A sound record states only what each agency proves. “WCDC transferred the person to ICE on the recorded date” is different from “ICE later released the person.” The first comes from the county disposition and receiving agency. The second needs ICE documentation or another official immigration channel. If the county record instead names another jail, DOC, BOP, or USMS, follow that system.
Personal identifiers should be handled with care. Use the A-number and birth data only to locate the correct official record. Avoid publishing private contact details or confidential immigration filings.
When ICE Release Search Fails
A no-result screen has several possible causes. The person may not be in ICE custody, the biographical fields may not match, the A-number may be wrong, a recent intake may not yet be visible, the person may be outside the locator's covered population, or custody may have ended. None of those choices should be selected without more evidence.
Recheck the identifiers first. Then use the Detention Reporting and Information Line or ERO contact. If the search began with WCDC, request the county disposition. Review the Winona criminal case through the official Winona County District Court channel for a release or sentencing order. When federal criminal detention is plausible, use PACER and USMS; when a federal prison sentence is known, use BOP.
Note: Use ICE only when facts support immigration custody; otherwise keep following the county, court, DOC, USMS, or BOP path.
Winona Immigration Custody Scope
The facility map includes Immigration Custody because a federal transfer is a meaningful alternative to community release from WCDC. It does not imply that ICE operates in the county jail or that every missing roster name has an immigration connection. Research found no official source naming WCDC as an ICE detention center and no county-specific ICE release feed.
Keep the search proportional to the known facts. Use ICE only when an agency record, court entry, counsel, the person, or another reliable source points to immigration custody. For all other Winona County jail exits, begin with WCDC, Minnesota VINE, and the court file.
Note: A county roster change is never enough by itself to establish an ICE transfer or an ICE release.