You can use the Department of Homeland Security website to find a family member who is in immigration detention. Enter your family member's information on the Online Detainee Locator System.
If you need help with a deportation case, the New Americans Hotline will refer you to organizations that can provide free and confidential assistance with immigration legal issues.
- Agency: Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs
- Division: New Americans Hotline
- Phone Number: (800) 566-7636
- Business Hours:
- You'll hear an automated message that will ask for your language. During business hours, you'll then be connected to an agent.
City's Restrictions on Immigration (ICE) Detainers
On November 14, 2014, Mayor de Blasio signed two laws to restrict the circumstances in which New York City will honor immigration detainers, and to remove federal immigration enforcement from City facilities. These laws went into effect on December 14, 2014.
Immigration, or "ICE," detainers are requests from federal immigration enforcement officials. These requests ask local police and jails to keep individuals in custody beyond the time when they would otherwise be released, so that federal immigration officials can take custody.
As a result of the two laws signed by Mayor de Blasio, the City only complies with these requests when they are supported by a judicial warrant and when the individual has either been convicted of a serious or violent felony or is a possible match on a terrorist watch list.
In addition, as of February 13, 2015, immigration enforcement authorities no longer maintain an office at Department of Correction facilities at Rikers Island.
These laws are intended to foster trust between immigrant communities and police. They prevent individuals who are not public safety threats from being transferred into the federal immigration enforcement system.
If you have questions about an individual legal situation, you should speak to an attorney. The New Americans Hotline can help you find free or low-cost legal assistance.
