ICE Releases Affecting Columbia
No dedicated ICE detention center was found within Columbia County. Immigration custody is a federal civil system, separate from the county criminal jail and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Columbia County Prison may record a person as released because its own confinement ended, while ICE takes that person to a detention facility outside the county.
The receiving agency field is crucial. If it names ICE, the accurate statement is that the person was released from Columbia County Prison to ICE custody. It does not establish that the person went home. Search the federal immigration channel next, then contact the facility or Enforcement and Removal Operations office identified by ICE.
Search ICE Detainee Records
The ICE Online Detainee Locator System, or ODLS, offers two search paths. The A-number path is stronger when the exact identifier is known. The biographical path depends on exact names and country of birth, and date of birth can narrow a match. Spelling, name order, spaces, and hyphens matter.
- Choose the A-number search when the number is known. Enter the exact nine digits, adding leading zeroes where required, and select country of birth.
- Otherwise choose biographical search. Enter exact first and last names and country of birth, then use date of birth to narrow.
- Read whether ICE reports current custody and follow any facility or contact routing shown.
- If no result appears, retry only with verified name variants or identifiers. Do not declare a release.
- Call the ICE information line or appropriate ERO office when the public tool remains inconclusive.
ODLS excludes people under 18 and may omit people for safety or other agency reasons. A recent transfer can also take time to appear. These coverage limits make a no-result inherently inconclusive.
Read ICE Locator Results
ICE says ODLS can include people currently detained and certain people released from ICE custody within the last 60 days, though not everyone appears and updates are not always immediate. That limited recent-release visibility is not a complete historical archive. Save the precise status language and date rather than converting it into a broader claim.
| ODLS input or output | Meaning and limit |
|---|---|
| A-number plus country of birth | Strong identifier search when both values are exact. |
| Name, country, and date of birth | Biographical search sensitive to spelling and hyphens. |
| Currently detained result | Routes toward ICE facility or office contact. |
| Recent release entry | May remain visible for up to 60 days but coverage is not complete. |
| No result | Does not prove release, removal, community presence, or absence of ICE contact. |
A person still in ICE custody may be far from Columbia County because no local ICE center was identified. Use the listed facility or ERO contact rather than calling the county prison for federal detention details after the transfer has been confirmed.
ICE Detainers in Columbia County
An immigration detainer is an ICE request for advance notice and asks a holding agency to maintain custody for up to 48 hours beyond the otherwise scheduled release so ICE can assume custody, under 8 C.F.R. § 287.7. The ICE detainer explanation describes this request. It is not the same document as a county bail order, sentence, or release log.
A Columbia County matter may be resolved while an immigration hold still affects the person's destination. Ask Prison Records for the movement code, release time, and receiving agency. Then use ODLS for the next custody system. The county record is strongest for the Iron Street gate transaction; ICE is strongest for its own later detention status.
- Detainer
- A request from ICE tied to possible transfer after another agency's custody would end.
- Transfer
- Movement from one custodian to another without return to the community.
- Removal
- An immigration outcome that ODLS absence alone cannot establish.
- Release
- Departure from the specific custody system named, not necessarily from every authority.
Trace Columbia-to-ICE Transfers
Begin with Columbia County Prison because it created the local movement record. Call 570-784-4815 or Records at 570-389-5718 and ask whether the person was released to the community or to another authority. If ICE was the receiver, ask for the event date and which releasable record contains the destination. Do not ask county staff to interpret the person's immigration case.
Next, search ODLS with strict identifiers. If a current result appears, contact the facility or office it provides. Review the UJS criminal docket for the county judicial event, but remember that a state court docket does not record every later federal immigration movement. If the person had federal criminal custody instead, the BOP or U.S. Marshals route may be more appropriate than ICE.
Columbia County Prison721 Iron Street
Bloomsburg, PA 17815
Main: 570-784-4815
Records Department: 570-389-5718
Contact ICE Detention Information
When ODLS does not resolve the status, call the Detention Reporting and Information Line at 1-888-351-4024. ICE publishes service Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The ICE detention resources provide current routing information.
Have the A-number, complete name, date and country of birth, and the date of the county transfer when lawfully available. Exact identifiers reduce false matches and help staff distinguish similarly named people. Do not send sensitive identifiers to unofficial directories.
ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line1-888-351-4024
Monday-Friday, excluding holidays
8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Eastern
Use ODLS for facility routing
ICE Custody Versus Release
A current-custody locator is designed to locate people within its system. A recent ICE release may remain visible for a limited time, yet there is no complete public archive. A county release record can document transfer to ICE without reporting the final immigration outcome. Place the records in order instead of expecting one source to answer every stage.
| Evidence | Supported conclusion | Unsupported leap |
|---|---|---|
| County record: released to ICE | Columbia custody ended and ICE received or was designated to receive the person | The person returned to the community |
| ODLS current result | ICE reports current detention and routing | The county case outcome |
| ODLS recent release result | ICE reports a recent departure from its custody | No other custody or supervision exists |
| ODLS no-result | Search was inconclusive | Release, removal, or community presence |
Use narrow confirmation language. “Columbia County Prison's record reports release to ICE on the recorded date” describes the local event. Add the ODLS status only when a matching federal result supports it.
Separate Columbia Custody Systems
The county prison houses several populations, so ICE should not be the default search for every unexplained disappearance. A county bail or sentence event belongs with Prison Records, PA SAVIN, and UJS. A state-prison transfer belongs with PA DOC. A sentenced federal prisoner belongs with BOP. A pretrial federal person may require a federal docket or U.S. Marshals inquiry.
- County release: confirm local release type, time, and destination through prison records.
- State transfer: search PA DOC after intake and describe continued state custody.
- Federal criminal custody: use BOP for sentenced prisoners and USMS/court records for pretrial movement.
- Immigration custody: use ODLS and ICE contact channels after a detainer transfer.
One system's absence does not prove another's release. It may reflect a name variation, processing delay, coverage limit, sealed matter, or a different custodian. When the event stayed within the county system, use the Columbia County released inmate search.
Request Columbia Transfer Records
For the county side, use Columbia County's required Right-to-Know request form and seek an existing release or movement record. Identify the person and narrow date range, then request admission identifier, release date/time, release code, and destination or receiving agency if recorded. Ask for exempt information to be redacted and the remainder produced electronically.
The county's Open Records Officer is David J. Witchey, 35 West Main Street, Bloomsburg, PA 17815, dwitchey@columbiapa.org, 570-389-5613. Pennsylvania's process does not require the county to create an immigration history or answer why ICE acted. Federal ICE records use federal channels, while the county request captures only the local custody event.
Confirm an ICE Release Chain
A sound event chain can include a UJS order, county movement entry, ICE intake result, and later ICE release status. Their dates need not match because they mark distinct acts. Preserve the source and timestamp for each. If the ICE result disappears after its limited recent period, rely on retained official records rather than claiming the disappearance proves anything.
Identity checks should use the A-number when known, a docket or booking number for the county event, and another lawful identifier. Exact hyphenation and country of birth matter in ODLS. If records cannot be reconciled, label the status inconclusive and contact the creating agency.