When someone is detained by ICE, they will first be taken to the nearest field office, which for Wheaton and Chicago-area residents is usually the processing center in Broadview, Illinois. Then, the detainee will be transferred to one of several county jails in the vicinity, where they will be held until their bond is paid or, in many cases, until their trial concludes.
There are three such detention facilities in the state of Illinois that have contracts with ICE that allow them to hold undocumented immigrants and lawful permanent residents. The facility that is geographically closest to Wheaton is the McHenry County Adult Correctional Facility in Woodstock, Illinois, and the other two facilities in the state are the Pulaski County Detention Center in Ullin, and the Jefferson County Jail in Mount Vernon. Family members of detained immigrants should be able to use ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System to determine where their family member is being held.