Get your family member out of ICE detention.
Answer questions about the person who is held. Get a personalized legal path to their release, a plan for what to do first, and help preparing the documents and evidence for a bond hearing or habeas.
- Free
- About five minutes
- No account needed
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Example plan
Sample answers: came on a visa that ran out; arrested at home; no deportation order; no arrests or convictions.
- Bond hearing before an immigration judge Open to them
- A judge decides whether they can go home while the case goes on.
- Ask a judge to review ICE’s custody decision A step you can take now
- They can ask on the custody paper ICE gives them (Form I-286).
What to do now
Find the facility and their A-number. Get copies of every paper ICE gave them.
Papers to gather
A letter from a sponsor with a steady address, recent pay stubs, and the lease.
People using Vadens
Updated .
If someone was just detained.
Some deadlines start running from the moment of detention. Start here.
Guides
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If someone was detained
The first 24 hours
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If someone was detained
How do I find someone ICE has detained?
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Bond and release
Can a detained person ask for a bond hearing?
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Bond and release
How do I pay an immigration bond?
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Bond and release
Did ICE end bond hearings?
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Bond and release
What is a bond hearing?
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Bond and release
Habeas corpus for ICE detention
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Letters and forms
Sponsor letter for an immigration bond
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Letters and forms
Letter of support for a family member
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Your rights
What are my rights if ICE comes to my door?
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Before it happens
Making a family preparedness plan
No guides in this category yet.
View all guidesYour options for getting someone out of ICE detention — what the locator, hotlines, self-help tools and a lawyer can each do, what they cost, and their limits.
Detention centers: Adelanto ICE Processing Center, Otay Mesa Detention Center and Eloy Detention Center — how to reach someone held there, visit, send money and ask for bond.
From someone who has used or reviewed Vadens
Before you start
What is Vadens?
Vadens helps families of people held by ICE see which release paths may apply, what to do first, and which documents and evidence to prepare for a bond hearing or habeas.
Is Vadens free?
It is free, and it stays free. No account is needed to check release options. The site takes no advertising, has no sponsored links, sells nothing, and receives nothing from any organization it links to.
What does free include?
The questions, release-path plan, guides, and help preparing documents and evidence are free. You do not need to pay anyone to use Vadens. A private lawyer may charge separately; using this tool does not hire one.
Is this legal advice?
It is not a lawyer, and it files nothing. This is information, not legal advice. If you need representation, a case filed, or emergency response, this tool cannot provide those services. Contact a lawyer or accredited representative for advice about a case.