I am not a lawyer, and nothing on this page is legal advice. This page is a cleaned-up version of notes from a phone call with the clerk’s office of the federal court in South Bend, Indiana, in October 2026, plus links to the official forms and some plain-language background on terms you may hear. It describes the process for filing. It cannot tell you whether to file, what to argue, or how a judge will rule, and nothing here should be read that way. Court procedures change, so call the clerk’s office to confirm anything here before you rely on it.

Who this is for

This page is for family members, partners, and friends of someone who is being held by ICE at the Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana, and who wants to help that person file a habeas corpus petition on their own, without a lawyer. Filing without a lawyer is called filing “pro se.”

What a habeas corpus petition is

A habeas corpus petition asks a federal judge to look at whether someone’s detention is lawful. For people held by ICE, it is filed in the federal district court for the district and division where the person is physically being held. For Miami Correctional Facility, that is the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division. If your loved one is held somewhere else, see the next section.

The petition is filed by the detained person. You can help gather information, fill in the forms, make copies, and mail things, but the detained person is the one asking the court for help, and they are the one who has to sign.

Which court?

The AO 242 form’s instructions say to file with the clerk of the district court “for the district and division in which you are confined.” Federal districts are divided by county, so the question is really: what county is the facility in, and which court covers that county?

  1. Confirm where the person is held. ICE’s Online Detainee Locator will show the facility if you enter the person’s A-number and country of birth, or their name, date of birth, and country of birth. People are moved often, so check again right before you file.
  2. Find the facility’s county. The facility’s address usually makes this clear, and a quick search of the facility name and “county” will confirm it.
  3. Match the county to a court. For Indiana, the list of counties in each division is in 28 U.S.C. § 94; every other state has its own section nearby in the same chapter. The federal judiciary’s Court Finder will also show the courthouses nearest to an address, city, or ZIP code. It lists the closest courthouse, which is not always the right division, so call that clerk’s office and ask them to confirm.

The facilities below account for about 98% of ICE detention time in Indiana and in Kentucky during 2026, according to ICE’s own detention records (government data provided by ICE in response to a FOIA request to the Deportation Data Project, covering book-ins through early August 2026). ICE also runs “hold rooms” in Indianapolis and Louisville where people are processed for a few hours; those are left out because nobody is held there for long. If a facility isn’t listed, use the steps above.

Indiana

Facility County Federal court
Clay County Justice Center, Brazil Clay Southern District of Indiana, Terre Haute Division
Miami Correctional Facility, Bunker Hill Miami Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division
Clark County Jail, Jeffersonville Clark Southern District of Indiana, New Albany Division
Fulton County Jail, Rochester Fulton Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division

Kentucky

Facility County Federal court
Hopkins County Jail, Madisonville Hopkins Western District of Kentucky, Owensboro Division
Boone County Jail, Burlington Boone Eastern District of Kentucky, Covington
Grayson County Detention Center, Leitchfield Grayson Western District of Kentucky, Owensboro Division
Oldham County Jail, La Grange Oldham Western District of Kentucky, Louisville Division
Kenton County Detention Center, Covington Kenton Eastern District of Kentucky, Covington
Christian County Jail, Hopkinsville Christian Western District of Kentucky, Paducah Division
Campbell County Detention Center, Newport Campbell Eastern District of Kentucky, Covington
Daviess County Detention Center, Owensboro Daviess Western District of Kentucky, Owensboro Division

Indiana’s divisions come from 28 U.S.C. § 94; Kentucky’s come from the two districts’ joint Local Rule 3.1, which assigns counties to the courthouse cities above. Confirm with the clerk’s office before filing.

The rest of this page is written for the South Bend court. If your loved one is held anywhere else, the steps are the same, but the forms, address, and phone numbers will be that court’s. Each court’s website has its own pro se forms page.

Two kinds of habeas claims

You may hear people describe immigration habeas petitions as falling into two groups, depending on where the person’s immigration case stands. This is background on the vocabulary, so the terms aren’t a surprise when you see them in court papers or hear them from the clerk. It is not advice about which group applies to your loved one or what to argue. That is a legal question this page cannot answer.

Detention before a removal order. The person’s immigration case is still going on: no immigration judge has issued a final order of removal (a deportation order), or the order is under appeal. Petitions in this group concern whether ICE may hold the person while the case continues, and often whether the person is entitled to a bond hearing, where an immigration judge decides whether someone can be released while they wait.

Detention after a final removal order. The person has a final removal order, and the government has been holding them while it tries to carry it out. Petitions in this group are often called “Zadvydas” petitions, after the Supreme Court case Zadvydas v. Davis (2001), which dealt with how long someone can be held after a removal order when the removal has not happened.

The AO 242 form asks the petitioner to describe the facts of their detention in their own words, and its instructions say you do not need to cite law. If you aren’t sure whether there is a final order, describe what has happened so far as plainly as you can.

Step 1: Gather the information you’ll need

The clerk’s office was emphatic that the petition needs all three of these. Without them, the court can’t open the case or get mail to your loved one.

  • Their A-number (Alien Registration Number). It starts with “A” and is followed by eight or nine digits. It appears on ICE paperwork and immigration documents.
  • Their Indiana Department of Correction number. For people held at Miami Correctional Facility, this number starts with 935. This is the number the facility uses to deliver mail, so the court needs it to send your loved one anything about the case.
  • Their country of origin.

You’ll also want their full legal name as ICE has it, their date of birth, the date they were detained, and any ICE paperwork you can get copies of.

Step 2: Get the forms

There are two forms.

  1. The petition itself: form AO 242, “Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241.” This is the national federal court form, and its own instructions say it is the right form for someone “alleging that you are illegally detained in immigration custody.” It is a fillable PDF.
    Download AO 242 from uscourts.gov

  2. The fee waiver: form AO 240, the Northern District of Indiana’s “Prisoner Motion to Proceed in Forma Pauperis.” The filing fee for a habeas petition is $5. If the detained person can’t pay it, this form asks the court to waive it. The detained person can fill it out themselves.
    Download AO 240 from the Northern District of Indiana

(The notes from the call said “AO 2241.” The form number is AO 242; “2241” is the section of the law the petition is filed under.)

Step 3: Fill out the petition

  • The form can be typed or neatly handwritten. Use letter-size paper and don’t write on the back of pages.
  • The form asks for the facts of the detention in plain language. Its instructions say you do not need to cite law.
  • Number and date every page. The clerk’s office said this makes a real difference in how smoothly the case is handled.
  • You can attach exhibits (ICE paperwork, notices, letters). The clerk’s office said that exhibits can be added after the petition is filed if you don’t have everything yet.
  • Read the form’s instructions on its first page before you start. They are short and clear.

Step 4: Get the detained person’s signature

The petition must be signed by the detained person. The clerk’s office was very clear that you cannot sign it for them, even with their permission. The signature is made under penalty of perjury, so it has to be theirs.

Practically, that means getting the completed forms to them inside the facility, having them sign, and getting the signed pages back out. Plan for this to take time.

The clerk’s office strongly recommended that the detained person also sign a consent to electronic filing. The clerk’s words were that this “gets them in immediately” and is the most efficient way to get the case moving, because the court can then handle filings electronically instead of waiting on mail to and from the facility.

I was not able to find this consent form on the court’s website. Call the clerk’s office (numbers below) and ask for it. Get it signed at the same time as the petition so you only have to make one trip through the facility’s mail.

Step 6: File it

Deliver or mail the signed petition, the fee waiver form (or the $5 fee), and the signed consent form to the clerk’s office:

Clerk, U.S. District Court
Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division
102 Federal Building
204 S. Main Street
South Bend, IN 46601

The clerk’s office is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday. If you go in person, you’ll need a government-issued photo ID to enter the building. If you want a file-stamped copy back for your records, include an extra copy of the petition and a note asking the clerk to stamp and return it.

What happens next

  1. When the court receives the petition, it assigns a case number and opens the case.
  2. The government files a response.
  3. The detained person can file a reply to the government’s response.
  4. The judge decides. The clerk’s office described three possible outcomes: the petition is denied, the court orders a bond hearing, or the court orders release.

Keep the case number somewhere safe. You’ll need it for every call and every piece of mail about the case.

Who to call

  • Clerk’s office, South Bend: 574-246-8000. This is the main number for the court. They can confirm procedures, tell you what forms they need, and look up a case by number.
  • Natalie, in the clerk’s office: 574-246-8011. Natalie was patient and helpful with questions about the pro se process. If she isn’t available, the main number will reach someone else in the office.

Court staff can explain how to file. They are not allowed to tell you what to argue or whether your petition will succeed.

Questions?

If anything here is unclear, or you run into something this page doesn’t cover, email me at n@nix.ai. I can’t give legal advice, but I’m glad to help you figure out the process, find the right phone number, or track down a form.

Further reading

Two things to keep in mind

  • Transfers happen. People in ICE custody are often moved between facilities with little notice. Which court handles a habeas petition depends on where the person is held, so if your loved one is moved, call the clerk’s office and tell them.
  • Keep copies of everything. Every page you send, every letter you get back, every date you called.

Reminder: I am not a lawyer. This page describes court procedure as it was explained to me and links to official forms. It is not legal advice, and nothing on it is a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney.