Georgetown County ICE Custody
ICE custody is a possible receiving route only when a detainer, docket, facility record, agency notice, or other reliable fact documents an immigration link. Research found no official evidence that Georgetown County Detention Center is presently an ICE contract detention site. That negative finding matters. The county jail should not be described as an ICE facility, and every person who leaves GCDC should not be routed through an immigration search.
A GCDC entry with an exact release timestamp establishes that the county facility recorded departure. The public entry does not name the release reason or destination. The person might return to the community, move to another county, enter SCDC or federal custody, or transfer to ICE. If ICE takes custody, the county release and the later ICE release are two distinct events. Each requires its own source.
Confirm a Georgetown ICE Transfer
Begin with the last confirmed custodian. If the person was booked at GCDC, match the county entry by name, date of birth, booking time, arresting agency, and charges. Record the exact departure timestamp if shown. Then look for an immigration detainer, federal docket reference, notice, receiving facility, or agency confirmation before drawing an ICE conclusion.
- Confirm the GCDC booking and departure through the Sheriff's official archive.
- Read the court record and available release record for a receiving agency or detainer.
- Search ICE ODLS with a complete supported identifier set.
- If the person appears, note the current location and contact the listed facility as needed.
- If no result appears, check spelling, date of birth, A-number formatting, and system limits.
- Contact Enforcement and Removal Operations or the known facility when the public search remains unclear.
- Request the county release record for destination or receiving-agency fields if they are public.
The Georgetown County release search guide covers the county archive, court check, and focused records request that should precede an unsupported ICE search.
Search ICE ODLS Correctly
The ICE Online Detainee Locator System offers two search routes. The identifier route requires a nine-digit A-number and country of birth. Add leading zeros when the A-number has fewer than nine digits. The biographical route uses full name, country of birth, and date of birth. Exact spelling and complete data reduce false no-results.
| ODLS field | How it is used |
|---|---|
| A-number | Enter nine digits, adding leading zeros to a shorter number. |
| Country of birth | Required with the A-number and in the biographical route. |
| Full name | Use the person's official spelling for the biographical search. |
| Date of birth | Helps separate similar names and is required in the biographical route. |
The landing page emphasizes adults currently in ICE custody or people in CBP custody for more than 48 hours. It does not include minors. Search results are a point-in-time locator, not a full Georgetown release archive. If the person is located, preserve the exact facility and status shown and confirm any time-sensitive movement with the responsible office.
ICE Released Records Have Limits
An official ICE attorney-information resource states that ODLS includes people released from ICE custody within the prior 60 days. That statement must be read beside the locator landing page's focus on current ICE or longer-term CBP custody. It does not promise a permanent released-person archive, and it does not mean every recent release will be easy to find at once.
A record that has aged past the cited window may no longer appear. Data entry can lag, and a person's identity details may not match the query. The 60-day reference concerns release from ICE custody. It says nothing about when GCDC, USMS, BOP, or another jail stopped holding the person. When two custodians are involved, record both events separately.
The official ICE detention resources provide the released-window context and routes for case-specific help.
When Georgetown ICE Search Fails
An ODLS no-result is inconclusive. The person may have transferred, been removed, entered the system too recently, left ICE custody long enough ago to fall outside released coverage, or been recorded under different biographical details. CBP custody lasting less than 48 hours may not appear. Juvenile records are excluded. A misspelled name, wrong birth country, date error, or improperly padded A-number can also block a match.
Repeat the search only with verified alternatives. Then contact the known detention facility or ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. Supply the A-number when lawfully available, full identity details, last known facility, and date of contact. Ask a narrow question about current location or recorded release rather than treating silence as proof of return to Georgetown County.
County Departure Versus ICE Release
The Georgetown Sheriff Booking and Release page is the best immediate public source for departure from GCDC. Released entries can show an exact date and minute-level time, but the page does not display release type, authority, or destination. An ICE transfer can therefore look like a county release even though the person remains confined under a new custodian.
| Evidence | What it proves |
|---|---|
| GCDC release timestamp | The county jail recorded departure at that time. |
| County release record destination | May identify ICE or another receiving agency if recorded and public. |
| ODLS current result | ICE publishes the person at the location and status shown. |
| Recent ODLS released result | ICE records a release within the locator's covered period. |
| ODLS no-result | No final conclusion without facility or ERO confirmation. |
The strongest account joins the records without merging them: “GCDC recorded departure on the displayed date; ICE then recorded custody or release as shown by its source.” If the destination remains unknown, say so and request the county record.
Georgetown ICE Release Records
A focused Sheriff FOIA request can ask for the existing booking sheet, exact GCDC departure time, release type, releasing authority, and destination or receiving agency if recorded and public. Send it through the Georgetown County Sheriff's FOIA page or to FOIA Request, Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, PO Box 1292, Georgetown, SC 29442. The FOIA administration number is 843-546-5102.
For ICE information, use ERO contacts and the known detention facility first. Immigration and law-enforcement records can be limited by privacy and statutory restrictions. Identify the person, A-number if available, approximate dates, last known location, and the specific existing record requested. Do not ask an agency to create a conclusion that its files do not contain.
Georgetown County Detention Center
2394 Browns Ferry Road
Georgetown, SC 29440
843-545-3400
ICE ERO
Use the official office and contact directory for the responsible field office.
Other Georgetown Custody Checks
If the facts do not support ICE, test the custodian they do support. A current SCDC match means state imprisonment, not immigration detention. A BOP result can establish federal prison status or a past BOP release. A USMS pretrial defendant may be housed locally without appearing as a sentenced BOP prisoner. SC VINE can report a custody change from participating agencies, but an alert still needs source confirmation.
A court docket may explain a bond order, sentence, dismissal, remand, or federal detention step. It may not show the minute of physical departure. GCDC supplies the local timestamp; the receiving system supplies the next status. This two-source method avoids labeling a transfer as community release.
State ICE Release Findings Precisely
Use language that stops at the verified boundary. If the county record shows departure but no destination, state that GCDC recorded the departure and that the receiving custodian remains unresolved. If ODLS shows current ICE custody, name ICE and the location displayed. If an official ICE source confirms release, state that the person is no longer in ICE custody as of the recorded event without claiming freedom from every other authority.
Never describe Georgetown County Detention Center as an ICE contract site on the present evidence. Never use an ODLS no-result as proof of release. These limits do not weaken the search. They preserve the difference between a confirmed local departure, an immigration transfer, a removal, and a true release from ICE custody.
Record the retrieval date because ODLS coverage and location can change. Preserve the A-number only in a secure case file where its use is proper, and avoid publishing personal identifiers beyond what is needed to distinguish the record. For a time-sensitive custody question, the responsible facility or ERO office is the final confirmation channel.