Will ICE pick me up when I leave a California jail or prison?

This page covers ICE pickup at release. It is general information, not legal advice. For how ICE holds work in county jails, see What an ICE hold is.

A release date should feel like hope. If fear of ICE is shadowing it, you are not alone. Use the time you have now.

Will ICE be waiting for me?

The honest answer: it depends on three things.

1. Where you are held. A county jail or a state prison.
2. Whether ICE sent a request about you. You have the right to a copy.
3. Your record and your immigration history. Some convictions let a county jail share your release date or hand you to ICE.

How does ICE know I am in custody?

When you are booked, your fingerprints are checked against federal databases. ICE can see a match. ICE may also ask to interview you. You can say no to that interview, and the jail or prison must give you a written form explaining that first.

What if I am leaving a county jail?

California law protects you more here.

• The jail may not keep you past your release time because of ICE (Attorney General bulletin 2025-DLE-03).
• The jail may tell ICE your release date or hand you to ICE only in limited cases, mostly tied to serious or violent felonies and certain other convictions. Plain misdemeanors do not count.
• If the jail gives ICE your release date, it must tell you in writing, and tell your lawyer or one other person you choose.

The full rules are on What an ICE hold is.

What if I am leaving a state prison?

State prisons run by CDCR are not covered by the Values Act limits that protect people in county jails. If ICE has placed a detainer on you, plan for ICE to be there. Here is what CDCR itself says it does (CDCR, Interaction with ICE, updated August 6, 2026):

• It checks with ICE about people born outside the U.S., and follows ICE holds under Penal Code 5026.
• It gives you a "Notice of Detainer" if ICE has one on you.
• About 10 to 15 days before your release, it asks ICE whether ICE will take custody.
• It will not hold you past your scheduled release date to wait for ICE. If ICE does not come, you are released.

The numbers are real. From January to July 2026, CDCR released 15,115 people. ICE had placed detainers on 1,036 of them and picked up 901, about 87 percent. In 2025, ICE picked up 1,453 of the 1,641 people with detainers.

In 2023, the Legislature passed a bill (AB 1306) to stop some of these transfers. The Governor vetoed it on September 22, 2023. We did not find a later law that changes this as of October 21, 2026. Before a release date, read CDCR's own ICE page and ask a lawyer whether anything new applies to you.

California law still gives you rights inside CDCR. The prison must:

• Give you a copy of any ICE hold, notification or transfer request about you, and tell you whether it plans to comply (Gov. Code 7284.10)
• Give you a written consent form before any ICE interview. It explains that the interview is voluntary and that you can say no or have a lawyer there. The form comes in English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean.

And CDCR may not:

• Keep you out of education, rehabilitation or credit earning programs only because of your immigration status or an ICE request
• Use your immigration status or an ICE request to set your custody level

If you are denied a program because of an ICE detainer, write it down and tell your lawyer.

What can I do before my release date?

Start now. Each step can change what happens at the gate.

1. Get your papers. Ask for a copy of any ICE request. Note the date and what it asks for.
2. Talk to an immigration lawyer or accredited representative. Ask if you have any defense or relief, and whether you could get a bond hearing if ICE takes you. See Bond in immigration detention.
3. Look at your conviction. Some old convictions can be fixed or reduced in ways that matter for immigration. See Ways to fix an old California conviction and Penal Code 1473.7.
4. Gather proof of your life here. Family ties, work, programs you finished, letters of support. See Papers that show how long you have lived here.
5. Say no to the ICE interview unless your lawyer is there.
6. Make a plan with your family. Who to call, who has your papers, who cares for your children. See Make a family preparedness plan.

What can my family do?

• Keep a copy of your full name, birth date, country of birth and A number (if you have one) somewhere safe at home.
• Know how to search for you if ICE takes you: How to find a family member detained by ICE.
• Learn how to call, visit or send money: ICE detention in Northern California.
• Plan for money: Make a family money plan.

What happens if ICE picks me up?

You go from the jail or prison into ICE custody. You may be moved to a detention center, sometimes far from home. Your criminal sentence is over, but your immigration case is just starting.

• Do not sign anything ICE gives you before you talk with a lawyer or DOJ accredited representative. Some papers give up your right to see a judge.
• Ask for a lawyer and a bond hearing. Who can get bond is changing in the courts, so ask a lawyer about your own case. See Bond in immigration detention.
• Your family can find you with the ICE Online Detainee Locator, using your A number and country of birth. A new transfer may not show right away.
• If you have children, ICE has a line for detained parents: 1-888-351-4024, weekdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern. Say "Parental Interests Inquiry" (ICE).

What if ICE does not come?

Then you go home like anyone else. A county jail may not hold you for ICE, and CDCR says it releases people on time if ICE does not pick them up. ICE can still look for you later, so keep your family plan and your lawyer's number with you, and go to every court date you have.

Questions people ask

Can ICE take me if I have no detainer? A detainer is ICE's request to the jail or prison. Without one, CDCR will not hand you over at release. But ICE can still arrest people in public. A lawyer can tell you if your record makes you a priority.

Will finishing programs in prison help? Programs, credits and good conduct can help in some immigration cases, and CDCR may not keep you out of them because of an ICE request. Keep certificates for your lawyer.

Does a jail have to tell me if it told ICE my release date? Yes. A county jail that gives ICE your release date must tell you in writing, and your lawyer or one person you choose.

Who can help?

These are free or low cost groups and public offices. Contact them to confirm hours, languages and openings. Being listed here is not a referral or a promise of service.

• Your criminal defense lawyer. Ask what ICE requests are in your file and how your conviction affects your immigration case.
• Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA): 650-326-6440. Deportation defense in court or detention for people with low income in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
• Catholic Charities San Francisco, immigration legal services (serves San Mateo County): (650) 285-6451. Immigration court cases, including bond hearings.
• Outside the Bay Area: the DOJ list of free legal service providers, by state.
• More options: Free or low cost immigration legal help in the Bay Area

Only a lawyer or a Department of Justice accredited representative may give you immigration legal advice.

Is there a checklist I can print?