Folkston ICE Processing Center Main — address, phone, visitation

Folkston ICE Processing Center (Main) is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility at 3026 Hwy 252 East, Folkston, Georgia 31537, operated by The GEO Group under the Atlanta Field Office. ODO’s June 2026 report says ERO began housing detainees here in 2018. ICE publishes separate facility pages for the Annex (3424 Hwy 252E) and D. Ray (3262 Hwy 252E) on the same highway.

Families regularly confuse the three buildings. Main and the Annex share a phone and P.O. Box; D. Ray has its own. Confirm which building holds your family member first.

Facility quick reference

How to locate or contact a detainee

Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov with the person’s A-number and country of birth, or their full name, country of birth, and date of birth. The locator may show “Folkston” without distinguishing the three buildings — call (912) 496-6905 (8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.) to confirm the building before visiting. Detainees cannot receive incoming calls; for an urgent message, leave the detainee’s full name, A-number, and your name and callback number; the facility relays the message. For case information, email Folkston.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov. This mailbox does not accept applications for stays of removal or case appeals. To ask who your client’s Deportation Officer is, use the same mailbox; a G-28 must be on file before information is disclosed.

ICE says Main has tablets for non-confidential messages and directs users to GettingOut information (checked October 20, 2026).

Visitation

• Family: Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays, scheduled by classification level — medium-high/high: Saturday 11:15 a.m.–2:15 p.m., Sunday 8–11 a.m.; low/medium-low: the reverse blocks. Government-issued photo ID required; visitors may be searched.

• Attorneys: scheduled in-person visits daily 7 a.m.–3 p.m. (booked via ERO eFile); walk-ins 6–7 a.m. and 3–11 p.m. as space permits. Include a copy of valid government-issued ID for every visitor; interpreters must also provide interpretation credentials on letterhead. Slots last 1 hour; consecutive appointments may not exceed two hours with one detainee. Scheduled visits take priority.

• ICE lists restricted-housing visits on Saturday and Sunday: low-medium 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m.; medium-high/high 3:45 p.m.–4:45 p.m (checked October 17, 2026).

• ICE lists holiday visits for medium-high/high from 11:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., low/medium-low from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., and restricted housing from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m (checked October 17, 2026).

• ICE requires all visitors to arrive 15 minutes before their intended visit for security processing (checked October 17, 2026).

Mail, money, and packages

Letters must show the last four digits of the detainee’s A-number plus the sender’s name and address; all incoming mail is screened for contraband (ICE says it is not read upon opening). ICE warns that all money (cash, checks or money orders) mailed to the facility will be returned to the sender. For the separate trust-account deposit route, send money orders or cashier’s checks only to Folkston ICE Processing Center, P.O. Box 248, Folkston, GA 31537. Packages are limited to items needed solely for travel or release, with ICE Deportation Officer approval. For removal, one small piece of luggage is allowed and can be sent after Supervisory Deportation Officer approval; no electronic devices are accepted. Before sending a package, call the mail clerk at (912) 496-6905 ext. 76741.

Legal and court information

For the immigration court (EOIR): automated hotline 1-800-898-7180 (A-number ready). EOIR main line (the agency the BIA belongs to): (703) 305-0289. If you cannot afford an attorney, ask the immigration court for the pro bono legal service provider list.

ICE’s Main facility page publishes these remote legal-appointment rules (checked October 20, 2026):

• Availability: ICE requires ERO eFile requests for scheduled video meetings or confidential legal calls. Slots are subject to availability from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday–Friday and 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday–Sunday.
• Booking window: ICE permits scheduling up to 2 weeks ahead, no later than 24 hours before the appointment, on a first-come basis, in 60-minute intervals.
• Daily limit: ICE places no limit on the number of virtual legal appointments requested, but prohibits a representative from having more than one 60-minute appointment with a detainee in a single day.

Complaints and oversight

Concerns about conditions or conduct: ERO Atlanta Field Office, (404) 893-1210, the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (its complaint portal or CRCL@dhs.gov), or the DHS OIG hotline 1-800-323-8603. ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight inspected the Folkston ICE Processing Center in January 2025 and again in June 2026 (reports on ice.gov); oversight complaints are taken seriously.

ICE inspection record

ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight (ODO) inspected the Folkston ICE Processing Center on June 2–4, 2026 (ODO report, Inspection 2026-001-129), the most recent report for it on ICE’s ODO facility inspections page when we checked on October 15, 2026. What the report says:

• Who runs it: the facility opened in 1997 and is owned and operated by The GEO Group, Inc.; ERO began housing detainees there in 2018 under ERO Atlanta. It is a dedicated ICE detention facility operating under the Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) 2011 (Revised 2016), and it holds male detainees of low, medium-low, medium-high and high security classification for periods longer than 72 hours.
• Staffing and services: ERO has a detention services manager and a detention service compliance officer assigned full time, on site Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; a warden handles daily operations. GEO provides food services and medical care, and Keefe Commissary Network provides commissary. The facility was accredited by the American Correctional Association in September 2024 and by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care in December 2024, and was audited and certified under the DHS PREA standards in January 2025.
• Findings: compliant with all 28 standards reviewed; no deficiencies. ODO interviewed 23 detainees (1 refused); none alleged discrimination, mistreatment or abuse, and all reported satisfaction with facility services.
• Rating: Superior, up from Good after the January 2025 inspection, which found 1 deficiency (in Significant Self-harm and Suicide Prevention and Intervention).

The ODO report covers only the Folkston ICE Processing Center; the D. Ray building has its own ODO report. An older DHS Office of Inspector General report, OIG-22-47 (June 30, 2022), covered this facility together with the Annex; see the Annex page for its findings.

Related procedural resources

• Know Your Rights — what to do if ICE detains you
• EOIR immigration court schedules and procedures
• All facilities under the Atlanta Field Office