Clinton County Correctional Facility

Clinton County Correctional Facility is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in McElhattan, Pennsylvania. It falls under the Philadelphia Field Office ERO field office area of responsibility.

Facility quick reference

How to locate or contact a detainee

To locate someone in ICE custody, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator System at locator.ice.gov. You will need the person’s A-number (Alien Registration Number) and country of birth, or their full name, country of birth, and date of birth.

ICE publishes two different numbers for this facility. To ask whether someone is held here, call (570) 547-6903. To leave an urgent message for a detainee, call (570) 769-7680 and give the detainee’s full name, alien registration number (A-number), and your name and a phone number where you can be reached; the facility passes the message on. Detainees cannot receive incoming calls — they place outgoing calls themselves. Have the person’s biographical information ready when you call (full legal name and any aliases, date of birth, and country of birth). ICE says the (570) 547-6903 line takes calls between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. (checked October 16, 2026). This facility’s visiting rules are below.

Visiting in person

What ICE’s page for this facility says (checked October 16, 2026):

• Family and friends: visitation is scheduled according to the detainee’s assigned housing unit, and ICE refers visitors to the Clinton County Government’s visitation page for more information. All family and other social visits are non-contact, and a visit may not exceed 1 hour.
• Arrival and ID: arrive 10 minutes before the scheduled visit time. Adult visitors must present a valid, verifiable government-issued identification card.
• Minors must be accompanied by an adult guardian (18 years or older). They may not be left unaccompanied in the waiting room, the visiting room or any other area.
• Search and items: everyone asking to enter is subject to a pat-down search, an inspection of belongings and a metal scan search. Anyone who refuses a reasonable search is not admitted.
• What you can bring: visitors may not carry any items into the visitation area or pass items to detainees. Firearms and weapons are not allowed, and electronic devices (cell phones, pagers, radios, etc.) are not allowed in the secure areas.
• Intoxication: visitors who are or appear to be intoxicated are not allowed to visit.
• Parking: ICE says free public parking is available at the facility, with designated visitor parking marked.
• Consular officials may meet with their detained nationals at any time. ICE requests that they make prior arrangements with the ICE Supervisory Deportation Officer, at (570) 547-6903, to the extent possible, and bring appropriate credentials.
• Clergy may visit at any time but must make prior arrangements with the Chaplain’s Office.

Sending mail, commissary funds, and personal items

Each facility publishes its own exact format for letters and packages (this facility’s is listed below). ICE publishes each facility’s page at ice.gov. This facility’s own ICE page says incoming mail “is not read upon opening, only inspected by the delivering officer” and that detainees may seal their own outgoing letters. ICE’s national standard allows more than that. Under ICE’s National Detention Standards, Revised 2019, §5.1(E) — the standards used in ODO’s July 2024 follow-up inspection — incoming general mail is opened and inspected for contraband, and outgoing general mail may be inspected and read if it is addressed to another detainee or staff have reason to believe it threatens the facility’s security or order, endangers someone, or could facilitate criminal activity. Only special correspondence — mail to or from attorneys and other legal representatives, courts and judges, government attorneys, embassies and consulates, the President and Vice President of the United States, members of Congress, the Department of Justice (including the immigration courts), DHS (including ICE/ERO, IHSC, CRCL and the DHS Inspector General), grievance administrators, and the news media — may not be read or copied by staff. Incoming special correspondence is inspected for contraband in the detainee’s presence; outgoing special correspondence is not opened, inspected or read, and if a need exists, any inspection takes place in the detainee’s presence. The standard limits any inspection to detecting physical contraband and confirming that enclosures qualify as special correspondence. Mail counts as special correspondence only if the envelope unambiguously identifies the title and office of the sender (incoming mail) or of the addressee (outgoing mail). Under that standard, ordinary letters do not carry that protection. Rules for commissary (account) deposits and permitted personal items vary by facility, and so does the number that handles them — ICE names a separate facility mail clerk on some facility pages. This facility’s own ICE page (linked above) sets out its rules for sending money and items in its Sending Items to Detainees section.

What ICE publishes for this facility’s mail, money, and packages

(checked October 16, 2026)

• Letters must include the last four digits of the detainee’s A-number (File Number), plus the sender’s name and address. All incoming mail is subject to screening for contraband. Outgoing mail is routed to the post office within 24 hours of receipt by facility staff. A mail pick-up and delivery schedule is posted in all housing units.
• How the mail is handled (per ICE’s January 2023 inspection): the facility handles special correspondence for on-site delivery. It contracts an off-site, third-party company to receive, inspect and upload the content of all non-legal correspondence into the detainee tablet system.
• Two mailboxes (per the same inspection): the general and special correspondence mailboxes have different addresses, both listed in the facility-specific handbook. A document addressed to the general mailbox was handled as general correspondence. A facility lieutenant told ODO that staff provide detainees with copies of general correspondence needed for legal matters upon request.
• Tablet messages: ICE says the facility has tablets and points to smartinmate.com for how to send a non-confidential message.
• Money: ICE’s page describes funds received in the mail. They are placed into the detainee’s account, and the processing officer gives a receipt. ICE cautions detainees not to have cash sent to them in the mail.
• Packages: before sending one, contact the Warden at:

Clinton County Correctional Facility
58 Pine Mountain Road
McElhattan, PA 17748

• Items for travel or release: only items determined to be of necessity for the sole purpose of travel or release from custody are allowed, and only with the approval of the ICE Deportation Officer.
• Stamps: detainees may buy them. Indigent detainees (no means of financial support and no funds in their facility account) get a postage allowance at government expense.
• Transfers and departures: only legal mail is forwarded. General correspondence is endorsed “Return to Sender” and returned to the post office.
• Luggage for removal: one small piece is allowed. If the person has none, luggage can be sent or delivered after approval from the Supervisory Deportation Officer. No electronic devices (cell phones, electric razors, laptop computers, radios, etc.) are accepted.

Legal access, attorneys, and immigration court information

Detainees have the right to speak with an attorney, and attorney–client visits and calls are confidential. For information about a case before the immigration court (EOIR), EOIR’s automated line 1-800-898-7180 (toll-free, 24 hours a day, English and Spanish) gives the next hearing date and case status; callers enter the 9 digits of the A-number, without the letter A (EOIR, checked October 24, 2026). For a matter before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the main line of EOIR (the Justice Department agency the BIA belongs to) is (703) 305-0289. Applications for relief from removal must be filed directly with the immigration court handling the case. If you cannot afford an attorney, the immigration court can provide a list of pro bono legal service providers — see the related resources below.

Booking legal visits, video calls, and legal calls

(checked October 16, 2026)

• In-person attorney visits: daily, 8 a.m.–11 a.m., 1 p.m.–4 p.m. and 6 p.m.–9 p.m.
• G-28s can be submitted through ERO eFile. Facility staff do not have access to it, so ICE says legal representatives should download copies of their submitted G-28 for any in-person or remote legal visit.
• Video teleconference (Zoom) meetings and confidential legal phone calls: request them by email at Abarnhart@clintoncountypa.gov or Tpacker@clintoncountypa.gov. You can also call (570) 769-7680 ext. 3608 or (570) 769-7680 ext. 3609. Clinton County’s Manager of Treatment or a Case Manager emails back with a confirmed date and time.
• Scheduling rules: appointments should be made 24 hours before the desired time. They are scheduled daily in the same windows (8–11 a.m., 1–4 p.m., 6–9 p.m.), in 30- to 60-minute increments. ICE says legal representatives are not limited in the number of VTC appointments they can request, but no representative may have more than one 60-minute appointment with a detainee in a single day.
• What the email should include:
  • the representative’s full name and contact details (phone, email, and Zoom ID or full WebEx URL);
  • the detainee’s name and A-number;
  • a few proposed dates and times;
  • a scan of the representative’s government-issued ID;
  • proof of active legal-representative status (such as a state bar card, or an attorney or paralegal license);
  • the DHS Form G-28, unless the meeting is pre-representational;
  • for a legal assistant joining alone, also a letter of authorization on the firm’s or organization’s letterhead and a scan of the assistant’s ID.
• Who may attend: only legal representatives, legal assistants and interpreters, with no family or friends. Outside interpretation services may be contacted during the session. A visitation officer stays outside the room, out of earshot but within eyeshot, and knocks 5 minutes before the cut-off time.

Sending legal documents to a detained client

ICE says legal representatives can send legal correspondence by fax to (570) 769-7637. The cover sheet must give the detainee’s full name, the A-number, the sender’s return fax number, the total number of pages, and the notation “Legal Mail.” ICE’s instructions also refer to a subject line and an email attachment, but the page gives no email address for this. The documents are inspected for contraband but not read, then delivered. Requests are processed daily, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays. When timely communication by mail is not possible, the facility administrator may, at his discretion, allow a reasonable amount of electronic written communication between the detainee and the designated legal representative (checked October 16, 2026).

Case information and the Deportation Officer

• Case-information requests: send them to Philadelphia.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov. ICE says this mailbox does not accept applications for a stay of removal or case appeals.
• Identifying a client’s Deportation Officer: contact the ERO Philadelphia, Williamsport Sub-office at (570) 244-4380. A G-28 must be on file for any information to be disclosed.
• Pro bono list: ICE says a list of free legal organizations is posted in all detainee housing units and updated quarterly. Contacting a provider for an appointment is the detainee’s responsibility (checked October 16, 2026).

Feedback, complaints, and oversight

To report a concern about conditions at this facility or the conduct of an ICE or contract employee, contact the ERO Philadelphia Field Office that oversees this facility, or file a complaint with the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL). On its own Make a Civil Rights Complaint page DHS publishes one channel — the online portal at engage.dhs.gov/crcl-complaint; CBP additionally publishes, for the same office, the e-mail address CRCL@dhs.gov, fax (202) 401-4708, and the postal address DHS/CRCL, Compliance Branch, 2707 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE, Mail Stop #0190, Washington, DC 20528-0190. The DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) hotline is 1-800-323-8603.

This facility’s own ICE page adds these channels (checked October 16, 2026):

• Comments on service, or a misconduct complaint to the field office: Field Office Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 114 North 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (215) 656-7164.
• ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (by mail): Director, Office of Professional Responsibility, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 500 12th Street, SW, Suite 1049, Mailstop 5099, Washington, DC 20536-5005.
• ICE OPR Integrity Coordination Center: 1-833-4ICE-OPR or ICEOPRIntake@ice.dhs.gov.

A news reporter who wants to interview someone held here must apply in writing to the Philadelphia Field Office, Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations, indicating familiarity with and agreement to comply with the facility rules and regulations provided by staff. ICE says a detainee has the right not to be interviewed, photographed or recorded by the media, and the reporter must first obtain the detainee’s written permission. ICE’s media inquiries address is ICEMedia@ice.dhs.gov.

ICE inspection record

Latest report reviewed: January 2025. ODO conducted a compliance inspection (2025-001-065) on January 14–16, 2025, under NDS 2019 (ODO report). ODO reviewed 21 standards and found the facility in compliance with 19. It cited 2 deficiencies, both priority components: on November 2, 2024, a staff member used a taser on a detainee in a manner inconsistent with facility policy, procedures and training (Use of Force and Restraints); and a detainee’s physical examination was done 21 days after arrival, while the standard requires a health assessment within 14 days (Medical Care). ODO also noted 2 Areas of Concern in Transportation by Land, interviewed 46 detainees, and rated the facility Good (its FY 2024 full inspection: 11 deficiencies in 5 standards, rated Acceptable/Adequate).

Earlier report: July 2024. ODO conducted an unannounced follow-up compliance inspection on July 16–18, 2024, under NDS 2019 (ODO report). It found that administrative-segregation orders lacked release dates and times, kitchen hand-wash water exceeded the required temperature range, and cleaning chemicals were unsecured. The report records corrective action for the segregation-order form and staff instructions.

Earlier 2024 report. ODO conducted a compliance inspection on January 23–25, 2024, under NDS 2019 (ODO report).

Earlier record: January 2023. ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight (ODO), part of ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, conducted a compliance inspection of this facility (ERO Philadelphia Field Office) on January 10–12, 2023 (ODO report). It applied the National Detention Standards (NDS) 2000. Per ICE’s January 2023 inspection:

• Detainee interviews: ODO interviewed 27 detainees. None alleged discrimination, mistreatment or abuse. Concerns they raised included small portions and undercooked food. ODO found the facility served portions consistent with the posted menu and cooked food within the appropriate temperature range.
• Deficiencies cited in the report’s findings:

• Area of Concern: the facility operated under “Green” COVID-19 status instead of “Red” status. As a result, it did not quarantine newly arriving detainees for 10 days or require masks indoors. ODO noted that NDS 2000 does not itself contain this requirement.

Earlier records: February 2021 and August 2020.

• February 22–25, 2021: ODO assessed 18 standards under NDS 2000 and two under NDS 2019, found compliance with 18, and identified two deficiencies in the other two standards. Report.
• August 3–6, 2020: ODO found general-population housing before classification was complete in 12 of 17 files, and missing initial classification forms in 5 of 17. ODO found no initial classification review by a supervisor in 12 of 17 detention files. Report.

Earlier inspections listed by ICE. ICE’s ODO facility inspections page also lists these inspections of the facility in McElhattan, in addition to the reports summarized above (checked October 19, 2026):

• June 19–21, 2012
• July 29–31, 2014
• July 26–28, 2022
• September 12–14, 2023

Related procedural resources

• Know Your Rights — what to do if ICE detains you
• EOIR immigration court schedules and procedures
• BIA-recognized legal-aid organizations in Pennsylvania
• Other ICE detention facilities in Pennsylvania
• All facilities under the Philadelphia Field Office