BLOUNT COUNTY, ALABAMA · ICE & PUBLIC RECORDS
Blount County, Alabama
Blount County Jail Roster and ICE Locator Answer Different Custody Questions
The county lists current detainees and recent releases. ICE’s separate search has age, timing and record limits—and cannot tell readers whether a local detainee has an immigration detainer.
Sources reviewed
The county roster covers the local detention center
Blount County’s official inmate-roster page offers two separate lists: people currently held at its detention center and people released within the previous 48 hours. ICE’s locator serves a different purpose. Checking one system does not replace checking the agency responsible for the custody information being sought.
WorthFighting.org reviewed the public instructions on October 19. The sheriff’s website warns that it cannot certify the roster’s accuracy or authenticity, although it works to keep the information current. A web listing therefore needs confirmation before someone relies on it for a visit or a time-sensitive custody question.
ICE’s search has its own coverage limits
The live Online Detainee Locator System search page describes its scope as people currently in ICE custody or in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody for more than 48 hours. It says people younger than 18 cannot be searched. ICE’s separate attorney-information page also describes records for people released from ICE custody within the previous 60 days; that broader description does not make every record searchable.
The locator’s FAQ says the system cannot answer whether an immigration detainer has been issued for someone in local custody. It also says the locator does not reveal whether a person was removed from the United States. Neither a county entry nor a failed federal search settles those questions.
Names and identification details must match
The search form provides an A-number option requiring nine digits and the correct country of birth. Its name-based option requires first name, last name and country of birth, with additional date-of-birth fields available. ICE instructs users to include hyphens in hyphenated surnames and says name searches return exact matches.
Those requirements can explain why a search fails even when the person’s name seems familiar. Readers should use the official form and its current instructions rather than treating a third-party jail directory as an ICE record.
A missing result is not a custody determination
ICE’s FAQ identifies excluded records and name-matching problems and advises contacting Enforcement and Removal Operations when the search does not locate someone. It also says planned or ongoing transfers are not displayed. Before a visit, the agency directs users to confirm the person’s location with the detention facility.
These limitations matter when people are trying to distinguish a county release, a transfer and continued federal detention. A missing online entry, by itself, does not establish which occurred. Read ICE’s explanation of missing results and transfers.
Use the agency that holds the relevant information
The Blount County Sheriff’s Office website lists its 24-hour non-emergency number as 205-973-0517. The ICE locator lists the Detainee Reporting and Information Line at 1-888-351-4024, with live operators Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.
This service report concerns Blount County, Alabama. It does not report a new arrest, ICE operation or individual immigration status. The county’s signed 287(g) agreement is addressed separately in our report on supervision, costs and complaints.
Sources and reporting
Document-based service reporting from the sheriff’s public roster descriptions and ICE’s live search instructions, FAQ and attorney-resource page. We read the form without submitting personal information or searching for an individual. ICE’s resource page mentions releases within 60 days, while the live form describes current ICE custody and CBP custody over 48 hours; those descriptions are attributed separately. No individual arrest, detainer, transfer, removal or immigration status was verified.
- Blount County Sheriff: inmate roster and release-list descriptionsUndated page; reviewed October 19, 2026
- Blount County Sheriff: official contact informationReviewed October 19, 2026
- ICE: live Online Detainee Locator System search formBrowser-reviewed October 19, 2026; no personal search submitted
- ICE: locator FAQBrowser-reviewed October 19, 2026
- ICE: attorney information and custody-locator resourcesUndated page; retrieved October 19, 2026