FDC Philadelphia is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It falls under the Philadelphia Field Office ERO field office area of responsibility.
Facility quick reference
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Facility name | FDC Philadelphia |
| Street address | 700 Arch Street |
| City, State, ZIP | Philadelphia, PA 19106 |
| Detainee information line | (215) 521-4000 |
| Facility main phone | (215) 521-4000 |
| ERO field office main phone | (215) 656-7164 |
| ERO field office | Philadelphia Field Office |
| ICE detainee locator | locator.ice.gov |
| Official ICE page | ice.gov/detain/detention-facilities/fdc-philadelphia |
| Last verified | 2026-09-10 |
ADP = average daily population; ALOS = average length of stay, both FY2026 averages (not a same-day count). Source: ICE Detention Management, FY2026 (released 2026-07-20).
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, call the number ICE publishes for detainee information: (215) 521-4000. Have the detainee’s full name, alien registration number (A-number), date of birth and country of birth ready. ICE’s page for this facility lists no urgent-message line. ICE says detainees can send and receive electronic messages with people on their approved contact list through TRULINCS (checked October 16, 2026). Have the person’s biographical information ready when you call (full legal name and any aliases, date of birth, and country of birth). ICE’s page for this facility publishes no social visiting schedule of its own and refers visitors to BOP’s page for FDC Philadelphia (see Visiting in person below).
Visiting in person
What ICE’s page for FDC Philadelphia says (checked October 16, 2026):
- Friends and family: ICE refers social visitors to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) web page for FDC Philadelphia and does not print a social visiting schedule on its own page.
- Who may visit: you can only visit a detainee at this facility if the detainee has placed you on their visitor list and you have been cleared by BOP. ICE says BOP has special rules on who can visit, the dress code, the duration of visits, general behavior and physical contact, and points to BOP’s general guidance on how to visit a federal inmate.
- Searches: everyone requesting admittance to the facility or the visitation area is subject to a pat-down search, an inspection of belongings and a metal scan search. Anyone who refuses to cooperate with a reasonable search will not be admitted. No firearms or weapons of any kind are permitted, and no electronic devices (cell phones, pagers, radios, etc.) are permitted in the secure areas.
- Clergy may visit at any time but must make prior arrangements with the Chaplain’s Office.
- Consular officials may meet with their detained nationals; ICE asks that they make prior arrangements with the facility’s Executive Assistant at PHL-ExecAssistant-S@bop.gov and bring appropriate credentials.
- Parking: free public parking is not available at the facility.
Sending mail, commissary funds, and personal items
ICE’s page for this facility says letters sent to detainees must include the last four digits of the detainee’s A-number (File Number), plus the sender’s name and address (checked October 16, 2026); see the facility-specific list 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 2019 national standard allows more than that. Under ICE’s National Detention Standards, Revised 2019, §5.1(E) — cited here for comparison only, because we have not confirmed which detention standard governs this facility — 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, on ICE’s page for this facility (page dated 08/06/2026):
- 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; ICE adds that “Mail is copied and all legal mail is vetted per BOP central office guidance.” 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 all housing units.
- Electronic messages: detainees can send and receive electronic messages with people on their approved contact list through TRULINCS; ICE points to TRULINCS and CorrLinks for details.
- Money: “Money cannot be sent to a detainee at the facility address.” Funds sent by mail must be addressed to a processing center in Des Moines, Iowa; ICE’s page links to BOP’s guidance on sending funds and does not print that address itself. If funds do arrive in the mail, they are taken to the processing area and placed in the detainee’s account, and the processing officer gives a receipt. ICE cautions detainees not to have cash sent in the mail.
- Packages: a detainee may receive only items determined to be necessary for the sole purpose of travel or release from custody, with the ICE Deportation Officer’s approval. ICE asks senders to review BOP’s mail guidelines before sending a package.
- Stamps: detainees may buy stamps; ICE writes: “Generally, there is no limit to the amount of correspondence detainees may send at their own expense.” Indigent detainees (no means of financial support and no funds in their account) get a postage allowance at government expense.
- Transfers and departures: only legal mail is forwarded; general correspondence is marked “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.
What BOP’s handbook for FDC Philadelphia says
BOP’s Inmate Admission & Orientation Handbook for FDC Philadelphia (revised April 1, 2022) is written for people held by BOP at the facility. It says:
Counts: staff count inmates daily at 12 a.m. (midnight), 3 a.m., 5 a.m., 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.; the 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. counts are stand-up counts. On weekends and holidays there is also a 10 a.m. stand-up count. The handbook says interfering with a count results in disciplinary action.
Dental care: a dentist and dental assistant are available at FDC Philadelphia, and dental problems are raised through a medical sick call request form to the dentist. Non-designated inmates receive emergency treatment for infection, pain and other dental emergencies; a non-designated inmate held at this facility for 12 consecutive months can ask to be placed on the waiting list for a cleaning.
Religious services: chaplains make weekly visits to housing units, and the schedule of religious activities is posted on the electronic bulletin board. Pastoral counseling and the Religious Diet Program are requested through an Inmate Request-To-Staff Member form to the Chaplain. A monthly visit from Prison Visitation and Support (PVS) requires a request sent by mail to the address posted on the electronic bulletin board.
Commissary orders: the handbook revised April 1, 2022 says purchases are on a bi-weekly basis, with commissary sheets available from the unit officer and submitted one day before the scheduled commissary day.
Spending limits: the same handbook lists $250.00 for the work cadre and $200.00 per month for Pretrial/Holdover inmates.
Stamp approval: the same handbook says only the Unit Manager approves indigent stamps and purchases of additional stamps.
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 and legal calls
Per ICE’s page for this facility (checked October 16, 2026):
- Legal visit hours: legal representatives may visit their clients Monday – Friday 6:15 a.m. – 8 p.m. and weekends and federal holidays 7:15 a.m. – 2 p.m. ICE points to the BOP web page for FDC Philadelphia for more information.
- Legal calls: representatives schedule a legal call by emailing cmcole@bop.gov.
- G-28s can be submitted through ERO eFile. Facility staff do not have access to ERO eFile at this time, so ICE says representatives should bring a downloaded copy of the submitted G-28 to any in-person or remote legal visit.
- Electronic legal documents: BOP has specific procedures for when a person in custody may receive electronic legal materials from an attorney, and publishes acceptable formats; ICE links to that BOP guidance.
Case information and the Deportation Officer
- Case information: requests about a person detained at FDC Philadelphia can be sent to PHL-ExecAssistant-S@bop.gov. This mailbox does not accept applications for Stay of Removal or Case Appeals.
- Deportation Officer: email the Philadelphia Field Office inbox at Philadelphia.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov or call (215) 656-7164. Information is disclosed only if a G-28 is on file.
- Pro bono list: ICE says a list of free legal organizations is posted in all detainee housing units and other appropriate areas and updated quarterly; it is the detainee’s responsibility to contact an organization for an appointment.
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; phone (215) 656-7164.
- ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (by mail): Director, Office of Professional Responsibility, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, P.O. Box 14475, Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. 20044.
- Joint Intake Center: 1-877-2INTAKE or joint.intake@dhs.gov.
Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) audit: BOP’s page for FDC Philadelphia lists an FDC Philadelphia PREA audit report, posted on June 10, 2024, from an audit conducted by an outside contractor; BOP says the independent auditors were subcontracted by PREA Auditors of America (checked October 19, 2026).
A news reporter who wants to interview someone held here must apply in writing to the Philadelphia field office of ERO. 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 Office of Public Affairs takes media inquiries at ICEMedia@ice.dhs.gov.