El Valle Detention Facility

El Valle Detention Facility is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in Raymondville, Texas. It falls under the Harlingen 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.

To ask whether someone is held here, and to leave an urgent message for a detainee, ICE publishes one number: (956) 689-9999. Give the detainee’s full name, alien registration number (A-number), and your name and telephone 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 lists the detainee-information line as answered between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ICE also says this facility has tablets; information on sending a detainee a non-confidential message is at gettingout.com, the vendor site ICE names.

Visiting in person

ICE’s page for this facility (last updated 08/12/2026, checked October 15, 2026) assigns family and friends visits by day and unit code, so find out the person’s unit before you plan a trip.

• All family and other social visits are non-contact.
• Minor visitors: ICE requires an adult guardian aged 18 or older to accompany minors and prohibits leaving them unaccompanied in the waiting room, visiting room or any other area (checked October 20, 2026).
• Arrive 30 minutes before the scheduled visit time to clear security, and bring a valid, verifiable government-issued ID.
• Visit length: ICE’s page gives two different rules. One paragraph says visits should be for the maximum period practical “but no less than one hour,” and that anything over the 1-hour limit must be approved in advance by the Facility Administrator; a later line says “Visits shall not exceed 30 minutes.” Ask the facility which limit applies before you travel.
• Dress code (ages 12 and older): shorts no higher than mid-thigh; skirts and dresses no shorter than mid-thigh when seated; no sheer clothing, bare midriffs, halter, strapless or tube tops, or swimsuits; men may not wear muscle or sleeveless shirts; shoes at all times (except infants); no gang colors.
• Everyone entering is subject to a pat-down, a search of belongings and a metal scan; no electronic devices are allowed in secure areas. ICE’s page lists “no parking policy” for this facility and says it complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Sending mail, commissary funds, and personal items

Letters and packages sent to a detainee must show the detainee’s full name and A-number, along with the sender’s name and return address — and each facility publishes its own exact format: some also require a housing-unit number, and facilities run by the federal Bureau of Prisons use the BOP register number instead. ICE lists each facility’s format on that 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 detention standards allow more than that. ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight inspected this facility in March 2025 under the Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) 2011 (Revised 2016) (inspection report). Under that standard’s mail section, 5.1, staff open and inspect incoming general correspondence for contraband in the detainee’s presence unless the facility administrator authorizes otherwise, and it “may be read to the extent necessary to maintain security, as authorized by the facility administrator” — reading, with the administrator’s approval, may be done at random. Outgoing general mail may be inspected or read if it is addressed to another detainee or there is evidence it might threaten the facility’s secure or orderly operation, endanger the recipient or the public, or facilitate criminal activity. Only special correspondence or legal mail — mail to or from attorneys and other legal representatives, government attorneys, judges and courts, embassies and consulates, the President and Vice President, members of Congress, the Justice Department and DHS (including ICE, ERO, ICE Health Services Corps, CRCL and the DHS Inspector General), outside health care professionals, grievance administrators and the news media — may not be read: the envelope must be labeled “special correspondence” or “legal mail” and identify the sender’s or addressee’s title and office. Staff may neither read nor copy it; any inspection takes place in the detainee’s presence and is limited to detecting physical contraband and confirming that enclosures qualify as special correspondence or legal mail. 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 deposit route, accepted form of payment and contacts are in the Sending Items to Detainees section of its own ICE page (linked above).

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

• Mailroom email: ICE lists Valerie.Munoz@mtctrains.com for the facility Mailroom (checked October 20, 2026).
• Letters must include the detainee’s A-number, plus the sender’s name and address. Outgoing mail is routed to the post office within 24 hours of receipt by facility staff, and a mail pick-up and delivery schedule is posted in every housing unit.
• Money: as of October 15, 2026, the “Sending Money” heading on ICE’s page for El Valle names no deposit vendor, phone line or mailing format; it says only that funds received in the mail are placed into the detainee’s account with a receipt, and it cautions against mailing cash. Ask the facility at (956) 689-9999 how deposits are accepted.
• Packages: contact the facility Mailroom before sending anything, at 1800 Industrial Drive, Raymondville, TX 78580, (956) 689-9999 ext. 426. Only items needed solely for travel or release from custody are allowed, with the ICE Deportation Officer’s approval.
• Stamps: detainees may buy them; indigent detainees get a postage allowance at government expense. On a transfer or departure only legal mail is forwarded.
• Luggage for removal: one small piece; if the person has none, luggage can be sent after approval from the Supervisory Deportation Officer. No electronic devices 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.

Case information, the deportation officer, and G-28s

• Case-information requests for people held at El Valle go to Harlingen.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov. ICE says this mailbox does not accept applications for a stay of removal or case appeals.
• Finding a client’s Deportation Officer: ICE directs representatives to the Harlingen Field Office or Port Isabel Detention Center at (956) 547-1800. A G-28 must be on file before any information is disclosed.
• G-28s can be submitted through ERO eFile; facility staff do not have access to it, so bring a downloaded copy to any in-person or remote legal visit.

Booking virtual legal visits and legal calls

• Confidential-session supervision: ICE says a visitation officer stands outside the confidential room, out of earshot but within eyeshot, and knocks 5 minutes before the cut off time (checked October 20, 2026).
• Requests go through ERO eFile and must include the representative’s cell phone number or email in the Virtual Meeting Information section. All video visits use the Socrates platform; ICE says the facility does not support Teams, Webex, Zoom or other platforms. For a phone-only legal call, say so and give the number the facility should call. Only legal representatives, legal assistants and interpreters may attend; clients’ family and friends are not permitted.
• Slots run Monday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in 60-minute increments, bookable up to 2 weeks ahead and no later than 24 hours before. One 60-minute meeting per representative per client per day, unless the facility approves an extended-time (2-hour) request.
• Uploads: a scan of the representative’s government-issued ID, proof of active legal-representative status (such as a state bar card or attorney or paralegal license), and the eFiled G-28 unless the visit is pre-representational; a legal assistant joining alone also needs a letter of authorization on letterhead and a scan of the assistant’s ID. For a medical or mental-health evaluator request under PBNDS 2011 Sections 5.7 (V.N.1) and 4.3 (V.FF), the written request goes in the Attorney Authorization Letter field and the evaluator’s licensure or CV in the Medical/Mental Health Evaluators field.
• The facility uses Socrates 360 for both virtual legal visits and the electronic exchange (and signing) of legal documents.
• No slot available, or an emergency: ICE gives EVDF.Court@mtctrains.com.

ICE says the pro bono provider list is posted in the housing units and updated quarterly, and that contacting a provider is the detainee’s responsibility.

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 Harlingen 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:

• Comments on service, or a misconduct complaint to the field office: Field Office Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 1717 Zoy Street, Harlingen, TX 78552.
• 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 Harlingen Field Office. ICE says a detainee has the right not to be interviewed, photographed or recorded, and the reporter must first obtain the detainee’s written permission.

ICE inspection record

Earlier inspection: ICE’s May 24-28, 2021 follow-up compliance report states that ODO conducted the inspection remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. ODO found compliance with 11 of 13 standards under PBNDS 2011 (Revised 2016) and three deficiencies in the remaining two standards.

ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight (ODO), part of ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, inspected El Valle on March 4–6, 2025 (ODO report); as of October 15, 2026 that is the newest El Valle report on ICE’s ODO facility inspections page. What the report says:

• Who runs it: the facility opened in 2018 and is owned and operated by Management Training Corporation (MTC). ICE began housing detainees there in 2018 under ERO Harlingen. It operates under the Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) 2011 (Revised 2016) and holds male and female detainees of low, medium-low, medium-high and high security classification for periods longer than 72 hours.
• Services and accreditation: MTC provides food service and medical care, and US Commissary Solutions provides commissary. The facility was accredited by the American Correctional Association in December 2022 and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care in January 2025, and was DHS PREA certified after a June 2022 audit.
• Findings: compliant with 22 of 25 standards; 3 deficiencies in 3 standards, one of them a priority component:

• Detainee interviews: ODO interviewed 40 detainees; none alleged discrimination, mistreatment or abuse. One detainee’s toothache led to an offsite referral to an oral surgeon, and ODO wrote that at the end of the inspection the facility’s medical staff had not found an oral surgeon willing to do the work “due to previous non-payment for ICE detainee treatment.”
• Rating: Good, up from Acceptable/Adequate in the FY 2024 inspection (March 2024), when ODO cited 11 deficiencies: Detainee Transfers (6), Detention Files (3), Personal Hygiene (1) and Telephone Access (1). ODO says it received the facility’s corrective action plan for that inspection, “which likely resolved previous deficiencies.”

287(g) agreements in Willacy County

This facility is in Willacy County, Texas (per the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder for the address ICE publishes). ICE's 287(g) participating-agencies workbook, dated October 9, 2026, records 1 agreement with agencies in that county:

Source: ICE, 287(g) program (participating-agencies workbook). A 287(g) agreement is between ICE and the law-enforcement agency; on its own it says nothing about this facility. What each model means · all agreements by state.

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 Texas
• Other ICE detention facilities in Texas
• All facilities under the Harlingen Field Office