The Santa Cruz County Jail (2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621) sits with the sheriff's office on North Congress Drive in Nogales. The jail desk is listed at 520-761-7874, and the sheriff's main line, 520-761-7869, also reaches it.

No Santa Cruz roster is posted online, so check Santa Cruz County on VINELink first and call Santa Cruz jail (2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621, 520-761-7869) staff to be sure.

Santa Cruz County on VINELink opens a statewide custody search. Select Arizona and enter the name. Calling the sheriff is often faster.

Statewide updates lag. A border arrest may also be federal, not county. Give the sheriff's desk, 520-761-7869 (2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621), the legal name and birthday.

For misdemeanors, Arizona lets officers issue a notice to appear and release. Domestic violence arrests mean booking into the jail, with no cite-and-release option.

The state's 24-hour limit applies here; at that hearing release conditions are decided.

Arizona presumes release on a promise. A bond, supervision or no-contact orders are added if needed, and some serious charges can bring detention after a hearing. See our Santa Cruz bail guide.

Call 520-761-7869 (2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621) for the amount and accepted payments. A bondsman may post for a fee.

Felonies are heard in Santa Cruz County Superior Court (2160 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621, 520-375-7730). Justice courts in Nogales and Patagonia, and Nogales Municipal Court (777 North Grand Avenue, Nogales, AZ 85621, 520-287-6571), handle misdemeanors. See the Santa Cruz court steps.

The county public defender takes appointed cases. Ask at the first hearing.

Near the border, federal detainers and outside warrants come up. Ask the sheriff's office (2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621) at 520-761-7869 about holds. Check the statewide DPS warrant search and the Public Access case lookup. A defense attorney can learn each issuing court's bond terms before you post. The Superior Court clerk (2160 North Congress Drive, Suite 2200, Nogales, AZ 85621) helps with case numbers at 520-375-7700; have the birth date and booking number ready. Self-surrender is at the jail, 2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621; dial 520-761-7869 first for bond and payment options.

Video visits may be offered from home or at the jail (2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621, 520-761-7869). Register before your first visit, and call or look online for hours. See Santa Cruz visitation and remote visits.

Calls go to prepaid accounts. Store money can go in online. Guides: Santa Cruz calls, messages, tablets, deposits, Santa Cruz commissary.

Envelopes should carry the inmate's booking number, name and your address, with nothing of cash value inside. Read Santa Cruz inmate mail.

Call 520-761-7869 and ask that jail medical be told about medicines or suicide risk.

For a firm answer, phone 520-761-7869, the line for the Santa Cruz County Jail at 2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621.

Minors go to the county's juvenile detention center at 2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621, 520-375-8195. See our Santa Cruz juvenile page.

A request for gift cards or wires is a scam. Call the sheriff yourself (2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621, 520-761-7869).

Phone the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office (2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621), 520-761-7869, so staff can say whether your relative is still in Nogales and what bond applies.

Federal arrests are made by the Secret Service, the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, and the ATF. Many arrests at the Nogales ports of entry are federal cases. The charge goes to the Tucson Division (District of Arizona) in the U.S. courthouse: 405 West Congress Street, Tucson, AZ 85701. Clerk's phone: 520-205-4200. Usually the next court day, they meet a magistrate judge for a first hearing. Expect questions with pretrial services before court. Different from the county, the federal court sets terms case by case instead of a fixed dollar figure. A bail hearing guided by the Bail Reform Act sorts out whether they can leave.

Meanwhile, the Marshals Service often keeps them in a nearby jail. Start with the county roster. This district's Marshals staff in Tucson knows where a federal prisoner is held: 520-879-6900, 405 West Congress Street, Suite 2300, Tucson, AZ 85701. Following sentencing to prison, they move to federal prison (the BOP (320 First Street NW, Washington, DC 20534, 202-307-3198)). Follow the person on the BOP locator by register number.

• ICE hears about most arrests from fingerprints deputies share. Then ICE might place a detainer.
• The detainer asks for custody up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released; it only asks jail staff (2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621, 520-761-7869) to wait before opening the door.
• Making bail does not clear the detainer.
• Officers from ICE often collect them before the 48 hours end. If ICE skips the pickup, this means they are released.
• Where they are sent depends on ICE.
• Look them up at the locator once ICE takes custody; enter the A-number and birth country. Families lacking the A-number can use nation of birth, birth date and the person's legal name.
• Questions about the hold go to the ICE field office in Phoenix, the office for the whole state: 2035 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004, 602-257-5900.

The state's prison system, the Department of Corrections, houses people sentenced to prison time. At first, most people stay in the Nogales jail (2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621, 520-761-7869) while the ADCRR (701 East Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034, 602-542-5497) schedules the move. The first state stop is a reception center. During classification, staff review gang links, health care needs, and custody level. Once that's done, they are sent to a unit that matches their needs.

The ADCRR inmate search shows their unit once they arrive. The Arizona state prison guide has every state unit.

An ICE FOIA request is the way to get an immigration mugshot; ICE decides. Reporters seeking a booking photo may phone the sheriff's office (2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621), 520-761-7869. Federal mugshots stay with the Marshals, out of reach of families and reporters in most cases. Marshals policy keeps sharing to three cases: for a wanted fugitive, when the photo may help catch them or alert neighbors, or if it's needed right away to keep people safe.

Inside city limits, the Nogales Police Department at 777 North Grand Avenue, Nogales, AZ 85621 answers at 520-287-9111. Outside the city, deputies from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, 2170 North Congress Drive, Nogales, AZ 85621, take the call at 520-761-7869. Patagonia's small marshal's office and the areas of Rio Rico, Tubac, Tumacacori and Sonoita can be reached through the sheriff's line.