What is an ICE Detainer?

There have been recent arrests by Marlborough police where people have been flagged with an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detainer but what does this actually mean?

According to ICE (which is a part of Homeland Security) this is a notice to local law enforcement agencies who come in contact with these individuals that the Department of Homeland Securty intends to take custody of these individuals if they were to be released from local custody. The detainer prompts a local law enforcement agency to contact ICE as well as allowing them to hold these individuals for up to 48 hours to provide ICE time to take custody, according to information on the ICE website.

Once individuals are in ICE custody, they may be removed from the United States. These detainers help to identify and remove criminal immigrants in local or state custody, according to ICE.

ICE is the primary investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Securty, according to their website, and was formed in 2003 through a merger of different departments. It is the second largest government investigative agency in the federal government, with 20,000 employees in 50 states and 47 foreign branches.