Your client was arrested somewhere else, and ICE moved them to Louisiana. Now you have a federal filing in a state where you have never appeared, on a clock that does not wait for you to get oriented.
Louisiana consistently holds one of the largest ICE-detained populations in the country, and nearly every ICE facility in the state sits inside the Western District of Louisiana. The one major exception is the Louisiana ICE Processing Center at Angola, which is in the Middle District.
This section of our site is for attorneys. It is written for the lawyer who already has the client and needs to know where to file, who to name, and who can appear alongside them. If you are a detainee or a family member looking for a lawyer, contact a nonprofit legal services provider such as the ACLU of Louisiana or the National Immigration Project. In the Western District, the Federal Public Defender has also been provisionally appointed to screen habeas petitions for certain detainees held under a final order of removal (Standing Order 1.73).
Start here: where does your client’s petition get filed?
Use the Where to File tool. Enter a facility, town, or parish and get the federal district, division, courthouse, judge-assignment rule, and local counsel rule. No email required.
Facility guides
- Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, Jena (W.D. La., Alexandria Division)
- Winn Correctional Center, Winnfield (W.D. La., Alexandria Division)
- Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center (W.D. La., Lafayette Division)
- Allen Parish Public Safety Complex, Oberlin (W.D. La., Lake Charles Division)
- Louisiana ICE Processing Center (Camp 57), Angola (M.D. La., not the Western District)
- Adams County Correctional Center, Natchez (S.D. Miss., not Louisiana)
River Correctional Center (Ferriday), South Louisiana ICE Processing Center (Basile), Richwood Correctional Center (Monroe), and Jackson Parish Correctional Center (Jonesboro) are covered in the Where to File tool.
Guides for out-of-state counsel
- Filing a § 2241 Habeas Petition in the Western District of Louisiana: venue, respondent, local counsel, and how the court now assigns and serves these cases
- ICE Moved Your Client to Louisiana: what changes, what does not, and the first 24 hours
- WDLA Immigration Habeas Standing Orders: the district-wide orders that govern these cases, tracked and dated
How we work with your firm
We are Louisiana-admitted local counsel. You remain lead counsel on the substance of the case. We move your pro hac vice admission, review and co-sign filings, keep the case in line with local rules and standing orders, and appear when the court requires it.
Call Seth Bloom directly at 504-599-9997 or email sjb@bloomlegal.com.
This page provides general information for attorneys and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Court rules, standing orders, and facility procedures change; confirm current requirements with the court and ICE before relying on them. Attorney responsible for this content: Seth J. Bloom, Bloom Legal, 825 Girod St., Suite A, New Orleans, LA 70113.
