Immigration Holds and ICE Detainers

An immigration detainer is a federal request and sits entirely outside the state bail system. Posting bail on the state criminal charge does not lift it, and no bail agency can remove it. The rest of this page explains how the two systems interact, so you can make a decision with the facts.

What a detainer is, and is not

• It is a federal request to a local jail, asking to be notified before a person is released and, in some circumstances, to hold them briefly so federal officers can take custody.
• It is not a state bail matter. The bail on the criminal charge is set by the court under the county schedule; the detainer is separate and runs in parallel.
• It is not a conviction or a finding of anything. It is an administrative request.
• It cannot be paid off. There is no bond a bail agency can post that removes it.

California law places limits on how and when local agencies may cooperate with federal immigration authorities, and practice varies between counties and over time. We are not immigration lawyers and we will not pretend to be — what follows is how it interacts with bail, which is our part of it.

How it interacts with the bail decision

This is the practical question: should we post bail at all?

• Posting bail clears only the state charge. Penal Code § 1269b(g) is explicit that bail discharges the person as to the offence the bail was posted on and nothing more. A detainer is outside that entirely.
• A release from the county may become a transfer, not a walk out of the front door.
• A premium is not refundable. Once a bond is posted, the fee is earned even if the person does not go home — see cash bail versus a bail bond.

So the sequence that protects a family is: find out whether a detainer exists before any money moves, and speak to an immigration attorney before deciding. We will check for holds at no cost and tell you what we find, including when the answer means a bond is not the right purchase.

How to find out whether there is a hold

1. Ask the custody facility directly. Staff will usually say whether a hold exists even if not what kind.
2. Ask us. Checking for holds is the first thing we do before quoting anything — see how to check for a warrant.
3. Ask an immigration attorney before making any decision that depends on the answer.

The other holds that behave the same way

A detainer is one of several things that can keep someone in custody after bail is posted. The others are a warrant from another case, a probation or parole hold, and a PC 1275.1 source-of-funds hold. How long release takes covers all five.

What we will and will not do

Plainly: if a detainer means a bond will not get your family member home, you will hear that from us before you pay, not after. That costs us a sale and it is the only defensible way to run this. See also avoiding bail bond scams.

Questions we get asked most

Can you bail someone out who has an immigration hold?

A bail bond addresses the state criminal charge only. It does not lift a federal detainer, and the person may not be released from custody even after bail is posted.

Does posting bail remove an ICE detainer?

No. Penal Code 1269b(g) provides that posting bail discharges a person as to the offence the bail was posted on and nothing more. A federal detainer is outside the state bail system.

Is the premium refunded if they are not released?

No. A bail bond premium is earned once the bond is posted. This is exactly why the hold should be identified before any money moves.

Who should we speak to?

An immigration attorney, and a criminal defence lawyer for the underlying charge. We will check whether a hold exists at no cost, and tell you honestly if a bond is not the right purchase.

Related resources

Warrants · Parole violation holds · Probation violations · PC 1275.1 hold · How long release takes · Cash bail vs a bail bond