ICE Mini-Cassia Custody Connection
ICE's July 2024 inspection identifies the Mini-Cassia Detention Center in Burley as co-owned by Minidoka and Cassia Counties and operated by Cassia County Sheriff. The inspection says the facility has housed ICE detainees since 1993 under ERO Salt Lake City. Local joint-powers minutes also separate ICE or Border Patrol custody from county, IDOC, USMS, and courtesy groups.
That evidence makes immigration custody a real local path, not a generic federal fallback. The building and legal custodian are different concepts. Cassia operates the physical jail, while ICE controls the immigration detention decision. A person can leave Mini-Cassia for another ICE site or removal process without entering the Idaho community.
Search ICE Mini-Cassia Records
The ICE Online Detainee Locator System, or ODLS, is the custody-specific search. It offers two identity paths. One uses the exact nine-digit A-number with country of birth, adding leading zeroes as directed. The other uses exact first and last name, country of birth, and optional date of birth.
- Collect the exact legal name, country of birth, and A-number if known.
- Open ODLS and choose the identifier or name search.
- Enter the A-number as nine digits, or enter the exact name fields.
- Compare the returned identity and reported custody information.
- If detained, follow the displayed ICE custody path rather than the county roster.
- If no result appears, contact ERO or DRIL before drawing a conclusion.
ODLS does not display people under 18. ICE states that it covers people currently detained and people released from ICE custody within the last 60 days, but not every person appears and uploads may lag. A blank result can reflect the limited window, exclusion, spelling, transfer, lag, removal, or lack of a covered record.
ICE Release and Transfer Outcomes
An exit from Mini-Cassia can have several meanings. The local custody entry should state whether the person left for the community or another authority. ICE records then answer whether immigration detention continued, ended, or moved elsewhere. Do not flatten all outcomes into “released.”
| Record outcome | What it supports |
|---|---|
| Still on local roster | Displayed physical custody at Mini-Cassia, subject to update lag. |
| Removed from local roster | An exit from the display, not proof of destination. |
| ODLS detained result | Current ICE detention despite any local roster change. |
| ODLS recent release result | An ICE release record within the locator's limited period. |
| No ODLS result | No conclusion without agency follow-up. |
| Local transfer disposition | Movement to the named receiving authority, not community release. |
Removal from the United States is also not the same as community release in Idaho. The local record can establish when the person left the Burley building. ICE is the proper source for the immigration-custody outcome. Preserve those two events as separate entries.
Confirm ICE Mini-Cassia Releases
Begin with Mini-Cassia at 208-878-1000. Provide the full name, booking date or range, booking number if known, and Minidoka case or agency information. Ask whether the person remains in the building, entered the community, or transferred to ICE or another custodian. Request the actual date and time, disposition, and receiving agency when releasable.
Next use ODLS. If the person is shown detained, follow the ICE location or contact path. If the result reports a recent release, record its exact label and date, then seek agency confirmation if the release type or destination matters. If there is no result, call the Detention Reporting and Information Line at 1-888-351-4024, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern. ERO can also address custody-specific questions.
The best evidence chain is Mini-Cassia booking identification, jail confirmation, local custody-release entry, ODLS, and ERO or DRIL follow-up. The Minidoka County released inmate search explains how to reconcile this path with IDOC, USMS, BOP, and the court record when more than one authority appears.
Mini-Cassia ICE Release Records
The local jail record and the immigration record serve different purposes. Ask Mini-Cassia or the identified custodian for the booking sheet and custody-release entry. Include actual exit date and time, disposition, community release or transfer, and receiving authority if nonexempt. A focused request is more useful than asking for every investigative record.
Supply the person's full name, birth date if known, arrest or booking range, booking number, Minidoka arresting agency, and case number. Ask for electronic copies, the meaning of public agency codes, segregable nonexempt material, and the legal basis for withheld portions. Because the jail is a joint operation and the roster is Cassia-hosted, ask which entity holds the precise series.
For ICE records, use the agency's applicable records process and describe the requested custody event narrowly. A local court order or federal immigration filing may explain legal authority, but it may not record physical transfer time. The operational custody records are stronger evidence of movement between agencies.
- A-number
- The immigration identifier used for the most precise ODLS search.
- ERO
- Enforcement and Removal Operations, the ICE component tied to detention activity.
- Transfer
- Movement to another custodian without community release.
- Removal
- An immigration outcome distinct from release into Idaho.
Why ICE Results Disappear
ODLS has a limited public scope. It includes current detainees and some people released within the prior 60 days, not a complete historical archive. A record can disappear after the window. Exact-name requirements, data lag, age restrictions, and coverage limits can also produce no result.
Compare identifiers before deciding that two systems refer to the same person. An A-number, country of birth, exact name, date of birth, Mini-Cassia booking number, and case number are stronger together than a name alone. Record when each source was checked. The roster, ODLS, and agency records can refresh at different times.
A missing result is not proof of release, innocence, record destruction, or removal. It is a reason to contact the last known custodian. If Mini-Cassia confirms transfer to ICE, follow ICE even when ODLS is blank. If ICE confirms release, request the official record when the precise date or type must be documented.
ICE Versus Other Federal Custody
ICE civil immigration custody is not BOP imprisonment. The BOP locator covers federal prison records from 1982 forward and can show a release date for a person who entered BOP custody. It should not be used merely because ICE is a federal agency. USMS custody is another distinct path, often tied to federal pretrial detention and transport.
Mini-Cassia can house people for more than one authority. A federal criminal defendant may move through USMS and later BOP. An ICE detainee follows ODLS and ERO. A person committed on an Idaho sentence follows IDOC. The receiving agency listed in the local release or transfer entry determines the next search.
This source discipline prevents a common error. A person can leave the same physical building yet remain confined under a different legal custodian. Confirm exit from Mini-Cassia first, then confirm the destination. Only the second step supports a claim about community release.
Note: The Rupert Minidoka County Sheriff address is a records office and former adult-jail location, not the current ICE or adult release door.