Find DOW Fort Bliss Releases

DOW Fort Bliss Release Paths

DOW Detention Facility at Fort Bliss is listed by ICE at 6920 Digital Road in El Paso. It is an immigration detention facility, not a county jail, TDCJ prison, or Bureau of Prisons institution. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations controls the relevant custody record. The research does not provide a verified capacity, a public departure schedule, or a separate DOW roster, so those details should not be borrowed from El Paso Service Processing Center.

Possible exits include release on immigration bond, release under an order of supervision, transfer to another facility, removal, or another legal outcome. An order of supervision permits community release with immigration reporting conditions. It does not mean the case is closed. A transfer also ends custody at DOW without ending ICE custody. Describe the exact event instead of treating every missing result as a community release.

Confirm a DOW Release

Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator System. An A-number search needs exactly nine digits and country of birth; add leading zeroes if necessary. The name route requires an exact first and last name and country of birth, with date of birth available as an added filter.

1. Confirm the A-number, spelling, and birth country.
2. Run the identifier search, then the name route if needed.
3. Read “in custody” or “not in custody” in context.
4. Record any facility or ERO office shown and the date searched.
5. Call ICE or file FOIA when the result is absent, older, or not detailed enough.

ODLS includes current ICE detainees, qualifying CBP custody exceeding 48 hours, and people booked out for any reason during about the prior 60 days. Children under 18 are excluded, and some records may be delayed or omitted. A “not in custody” result is more useful than no result because a blank match can have several causes.

DOW Facility Contact Records

ICE's Detention Reporting and Information Line provides basic case information. Have the full name, A-number, country and date of birth, and the DOW address ready. Ask whether the person remains in ICE custody, moved to another location, or was booked out, and which ERO office is now responsible. Staff may limit disclosure.

Use ICE FOIA for a durable record. Identify the person, DOW facility, date range, and exact booking, movement, transfer, or release item sought. Identity verification, consent, privacy limits, and law-enforcement exceptions may apply. A targeted request avoids confusion with an immigration court file, which is held through a different federal process.

DOW and County Custody

El Paso County labels its public jail search “current jailings only.” That search covers current EPCSO custody, not DOW. A person can drop from the county result because ICE assumed custody. In that situation the county record documents the end of county authority and the receiving agency, while ODLS and ERO address what happened next.

The El Paso County release guide separates county, TDCJ, BOP, and ICE systems. This separation prevents a common error. Being released from the Downtown Detention Facility to DOW is not release into the community. Being booked out of DOW later does not establish the outcome of a separate criminal case.

ICE Detainers in El Paso

An ICE detainer is notice and a request concerning an impending release so immigration officers can take custody. ICE's form asks another agency to continue holding a person for a limited period beyond the otherwise-authorized release point. The mechanism can convert a county release into a direct federal immigration transfer.

This issue is especially local because El Paso has multiple ICE facilities and DDF processes federal arrestees. Ask EPCSO's releasing staff for the destination, not just whether the county booking ended. When the release record identifies ICE or DOW, state “released from county custody to ICE.” That wording preserves the difference between an agency handoff and a community exit.

No DOW Locator Match

First verify the search data. A-number length, name order, spelling, and country of birth all matter. Then consider ODLS limits. A record may lag, fall outside coverage, or disappear after the recent booked-out window. No match does not identify release, transfer, or removal.

Call the ICE information line and ask for the responsible ERO office. If the person entered DOW from EPCSO, request the booking and release event from EPCSO Crime Records, 3850 Justice Street, El Paso, TX 79938, 915-273-3807, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ask for booking-out time, disposition, and receiving agency. County records stop at the handoff; ICE records address later movement.

Distinguish Federal Custody Systems

BOP Locator is for federal criminal imprisonment, mainly people held or released since 1982. It can show a release date and “Released” location, but that only means the person left BOP custody. USMS handles many pretrial federal detainees and does not publish a comparable historical release locator. Immigration detention remains an ICE matter.

Use the federal court docket for detention or release orders in a federal criminal case, BOP after a prison designation, and USMS FOIA for a narrowly described Marshals Service record. Check El Paso County Criminal Case Records when a local case is involved. None of those sources replaces ODLS for recent DOW custody.

Preserve a DOW Release Timeline

Write down the county booking-out event, ICE entry, DOW location, later transfer, and ODLS result as separate lines. Include the source and search date. Keep the A-number distinct from a TDCJ state number or BOP register number. This small record prevents later systems from being merged into one vague release claim.

If confirmation remains incomplete, follow the sources in order: ODLS, the ICE information line, ERO, county transfer records when relevant, immigration or criminal court records, and ICE FOIA. The VINE Inmate Check covers state and county notification systems, not DOW. The Release Date Lookup addresses projected correctional dates, not immigration outcomes.

Save any “not in custody” page promptly because the booked-out result has limited retention. Note that the phrase establishes only ICE custody status at the time searched. It does not identify the person's location, prove removal, or close a court case. When an official explanation matters, pair the dated locator result with the ERO response or requested agency record. If ICE names a receiving facility, begin a new facility search instead of continuing to call DOW as though it still held the person.