Check ICE Detention Releases

ICE Knox Release Distinctions

ICE detention is federal civil immigration custody. It is not a Knox County sentence, a TDCJ prison term, or BOP imprisonment. The system becomes relevant only when the sheriff record identifies an ICE detainer, immigration pickup, transfer, or other federal immigration event. No local ICE facility or ICE contract was established by the research.

If Knox County Jail turns a person over to ICE, the local release entry may mark the end of county custody. The person remains detained by a new custodian. That event should be called an ICE transfer, not a release home. A later ICE release is a separate event with its own date and terms. Both records may be needed to describe the sequence accurately.

Search ICE Detention Records

The official ICE Online Detainee Locator System, or ODLS, searches current ICE custody. ICE guidance also describes people released from ICE custody within the preceding 60 days. It can include people held by Customs and Border Protection for longer than 48 hours. These boundaries make ODLS an immigration tool, not a general Knox County released-inmate search.

The strongest search uses the nine-digit alien registration number, commonly called an A-number, plus country of birth. Add leading zeros when needed to reach nine digits. The alternate search uses exact first and last name, country of birth, and date of birth. Name spelling must match the system. Minors cannot be searched in ODLS.

1. Obtain the A-number from a reliable case or agency record when possible.
2. Enter the nine-digit number and country of birth, including any required leading zeros.
3. If the number is unavailable, use exact name, country of birth, and date of birth.
4. Compare the result with the Knox transfer date and receiving-agency notation.
5. If no match appears, contact ICE and request the underlying sheriff record rather than inferring release.

ODLS was the only matching ICE image candidate in the project manifest, but that capture failed. This ICE page remains text-only rather than displaying an unrelated state, county, or federal-prison image.

Interpret ICE Release Results

A current ODLS match establishes an immigration custody path within the locator's scope. It can resolve why someone disappeared after Knox County recorded an ICE handoff. A recent-release result concerns departure from ICE custody, not the earlier departure from the county jail. Preserve the agency label and date exactly.

A no-result has several possible causes. The person may be outside ODLS coverage, released beyond the recent period, listed with different biographical data, too newly transferred for a stable result, or held by another agency. The person may also be a minor, whose record is not searchable. None of these possibilities is proof of freedom.

Dates need labels. A county transfer date, ICE booking date, immigration court date, and ICE release date describe different stages. Never substitute one for another.

Get Knox ICE Transfer Records

Start with the Knox County Sheriff because that office created the local custody record. Send a written request to Knox County Sheriff, PO Box 257, Benjamin, TX 79505-0257, or fax it to 940-459-2016. Hand delivery may be directed to 111 E. Hayes Street after calling 940-459-2211 to confirm arrangements. The jail line is 940-459-2041.

Ask for the existing booking and release record or jail card for one custody episode. Request the release or transfer date and time, event type, authority, destination or receiving agency, detainer or hold notation if recorded, charges, and booking number. Include full name, date of birth, approximate dates, and the booking number when known.

A detainer is a request or legal mechanism through which another agency seeks custody or notice before release. Its presence does not establish that ICE actually took custody. The completed county transfer entry and a matching federal record are stronger than the detainer alone.

Immigration detainer

An ICE request or authority connected to notice or transfer; it is not itself proof of completed pickup.

Receiving agency

The next custodian named in the county record.

ICE release

The later end of the identified ICE detention episode.

Immigration proceeding

The civil case process, which may continue after detention ends.

Confirm ICE Custody Changes

Build the verification chain in time order. First, confirm what happened at Knox County Jail. Second, search ODLS with the strongest identifier. Third, keep the immigration case and detention event distinct. A person can leave detention while proceedings continue, just as a county defendant can leave on bond while a criminal case continues.

The ICE detention information resources explain locator access and detention-related channels. When the public locator is inconclusive, use ICE contacts or the agency's Freedom of Information Act process for existing federal records. Federal access rules apply to ICE records, not the Texas Public Information Act.

A focused request should identify the person with the A-number, exact name, date of birth, country of birth, and a practical date range. Ask for the specific custody, transfer, or release record. Privacy and law-enforcement exemptions may limit disclosure. Do not ask the agency to create a legal conclusion that no record states.

Separate ICE From Other Systems

Several systems can touch one Knox County case. The Knox County Jail record is strongest for the local physical exit. TDCJ is strongest for Texas prison custody and state release. BOP covers federal imprisonment, while USMS may hold a federal pretrial prisoner. ICE and ODLS address immigration custody. A search in the wrong system can produce a clean no-result while the person remains held elsewhere.

A practical custody flow may read: Knox County arrest, county booking, ICE transfer, ICE detention, then ICE release. Another may stop after a county community release and never involve ICE. Federal immigration custody should not be assumed merely because a person is absent from a county list.

The Knox County released-inmate records path starts with the correct custodian and shows why a positive event record outranks online absence. Use only the agency that is competent to prove the event in question.

ICE Knox Contact Route

There is no established ICE detention facility, local ICE release counter, or facility phone in Knox County. The authoritative public route is the national ODLS portal, followed by ICE detention contacts or FOIA when the locator cannot resolve the event. The sheriff office remains responsible for its own transfer record.

Note: Current ICE facility and contact details should be verified through official ICE channels before travel because custody locations may change.

Preserve ICE Release Evidence

Record the exact identifiers used, the date of each search, the agency label, and the source of each date. Save the Knox request and response with any ICE result or correspondence. This prevents a transfer date from being republished as a community release date and keeps two custody episodes from merging.

If sources conflict, ask each agency about its own record. The sheriff can explain its release or transfer entry. ICE can address ICE detention and release. A court record can explain the legal proceeding but may not state the exact physical exit time. A clear record trail is more reliable than a conclusion drawn from disappearance.

No official source supports a Knox-specific ICE pickup schedule, local ICE holding site, release hour, transportation plan, or family waiting place. Those details should be confirmed for the actual case rather than generalized.