If you are searching for someone who may have crossed into the United States, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website allows you to search by name or A-Number for anyone currently in ICE custody, or currently in CBP custody for 48 hours or more.
When CBP encounters individuals and families along the border between ports of entry, they are transported to a U.S. Border Patrol station or other CBP processing facility, where they are identified, and undergo an initial health screening. CBP screens and vets individuals using a range of criteria and methods, including the collection of biometric and biographic information to prevent anyone known to pose a threat from entering the country. While in CBP custody, migrants are provided basic medical care in a manner consistent with all applicable legal obligations, CBP’s Transport, Escort, Detention and Search Policy (TEDS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
When someone enters CBP custody, they are held in safe, secure, and clean facilities with appropriate conditions. They are provided basic hygiene items, mats, restrooms, drinking water, and regular meals. They are advised of their right to consular access in a language or manner they understand. Those referred for immigration proceedings are provided with a list of pro bono legal service providers and their contact information.
Every effort is made to promptly transfer, transport, process, release, or repatriate migrants as appropriate and operationally feasible. Generally, CBP tries not to hold individuals in custody for longer than 72 hours. Family units usually remain together. For the safety and security of all persons in custody, unaccompanied children are separated from unrelated adults.
Many CBP facilities along the southwest border, including soft-sided facilities, provide humanitarian services to those in CBP custody such as laundry, meals, childcare for unaccompanied children, and medical support. Photographs and video of CBP processing centers and temporary soft-sided facilities are available online.
While carrying out its homeland security and law enforcement missions, CBP prioritizes human health and safety and dedicates significant resources toward robust border safety programs. These national programs include, but are not limited to, the Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue Unit, the Missing Migrant Program, and the expanding deployment of rescue beacons throughout the border region. In addition to these programs, every Border Patrol agent receives first responder training.
Crossing the border unlawfully is inherently dangerous. CBP urges migrants to seek lawful pathways into the United States and not to place their lives in the hands of human smugglers. CBP continues to expeditiously process and remove individuals who arrive at the U.S. border unlawfully, and who do not establish legal basis to stay in the United States. When an individual is in CBP custody, every effort will be made to promptly transfer, transport, process, release, or repatriate the individual as appropriate according to CBP policies and procedures.
