Freeborn County Jail Services

Freeborn County Jail Services is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in Albert Lea, Minnesota. Freeborn County describes its Adult Detention Center as a 138-bed Direct Supervision facility whose staff includes one ICE Contract Administrator (checked October 19, 2026). It falls under the St. Paul 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 (612) 409-7799. To leave an urgent message for a detainee, call (507) 377-5093 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. The general facility line (507) 377-5200 is for other questions. 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 information line (612) 409-7799 can be called between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. (checked October 16, 2026). Visiting hours are listed under Visiting in person below.

Visiting in person

ICE’s page for this facility lists these friends-and-family visiting hours, reproduced as published (checked October 16, 2026):

• Lobby visitation, Monday through Friday until 5 p.m.:
  • 8:30 a.m.–9:45 a.m. (segregated detainees)
  • 8:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. (general population 10–11:30 a.m.)
  • 12:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m.
  • 3:30 p.m.–4:45 p.m. (isolated detainees)
  • 6:30 p.m.–10:30 p.m.
• Sundays: 2 p.m.–4 p.m., by appointment only.
• Arrival: all visitors must arrive 45 minutes before the scheduled visit time so they can be processed through security.
• Length and type: a visit may not exceed 20 minutes, and all family or other social visits are non-contact.
• ID: adult visitors must present a valid, verifiable government-issued identification card to enter.
• Minors must be accompanied by an adult guardian (18 years or older) and must not be left unaccompanied in the waiting room, visiting room or any other area.
• Online visits: ICE says visitation may also be conducted online through inmatecanteen.com.
• Search and restrictions: 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; anyone refusing a reasonable search is not admitted. No firearms or weapons of any kind; no electronic devices (cell phones, pagers, radios, etc.) in the secure areas. Visitors who are or appear to be intoxicated are not allowed to visit. Visitors may not pass or try to pass items to detainees, or carry any items into the visitation area.
• 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 (612) 409-7799, to the extent possible, and bring appropriate credentials.
• Clergy may visit at any time, but must make prior arrangements with the Chaplain’s Office.
• Parking: free public parking is available at the facility, with marked visitor parking; the lot is on the southwest side of the building.

What the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office visitation sheet says (checked October 17, 2026)

ICE’s page and the county sheriff’s sheet conflict on how and when visits happen. ICE’s page lists non-contact lobby visiting periods Monday through Friday until 5 p.m., a 6:30 p.m.–10:30 p.m. period, and Sunday visits by appointment, with online visits as an additional option. The Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office visitation sheet (checked October 17, 2026) says visitation is by video only and that lobby visitation is open only Monday through Friday until 4:30 p.m. The sheet’s own wording:

• Video only: the sheet says “Visitation is by video only,” at stations in the lobby of the Law Enforcement Center in the Freeborn County Government Center or online at inmatecanteen.com. It says there is a fee to visit online, while visiting from the lobby is free.
• Lobby hours: the sheet says lobby visitation “is only open Monday through Friday until 4:30 p.m.” (ICE’s page says until 5 p.m.).
• Intake/Release or Segregation units: the sheet says visitors must contact the Master Control Center through the LEC lobby phone for in-house visits, or call the Intake Unit at (507) 377-4681 to arrange an offsite visit. It says people housed in the Intake Unit must have made their first appearance before a Freeborn County Judge to be eligible for visitation, and that Riverside hearings do not qualify as a first appearance.
• Dress code: the sheet bars sleeveless tops, halter tops, tank tops, hats, shorts, mini-skirts/dresses, see-through clothing and camouflage attire, and says children age 10 or younger may not be allowed to wear shorts during visitation. Detention Center staff can deny visitation to anyone dressed inappropriately.
• Phones and monitoring: the sheet says cell phone use is strictly prohibited in the visitation rooms, and that visitation is monitored; violations may result in termination of visit and visitation privileges. The sheet directs problems setting up an online account to Turnkey Corrections.

ICE says visitation procedures and hours are subject to change.

Sending mail, commissary funds, and personal items

Each facility publishes its own exact mail format. For this facility, ICE says letters must include the last four digits of the detainee’s A-number, plus the sender’s name and address. 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 national standard allows more than that. Under ICE’s National Detention Standards, Revised 2019, §5.1(E), 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). 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

Per this facility’s ICE page (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. Detainees may seal their outgoing letters, and 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.
• 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.
• Money by mail: funds that arrive in the mail are taken to the processing area and placed in the detainee’s account, and the processing officer gives a receipt for all funds received. ICE adds that detainees “are cautioned not to have cash sent to them in the mail.”
• Packages: a detainee may receive only items needed for the sole purpose of travel or release from custody, with approval of the ICE Deportation Officer. ICE asks senders to contact the St. Paul ICE/ERO Office at (612) 409-7799 before sending a package.
• 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.
• Transfers and departures: only legal mail is forwarded; general correspondence is endorsed “Return to Sender.”
• Tablet messages: the facility has tablets; ICE points to the Freeborn County Adult Detention Center website for how to send a non-confidential message.

What the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office publishes for mail and phones (checked October 17, 2026)

• Mail address format: the sheriff’s mail sheet gives this format: the detainee’s name, PO Box 170, Albert Lea MN 56007. It says all mail must be sent through the United States Postal Service and that all incoming and outgoing mail will be inspected for contraband.
• What may be mailed: the sheet says detainees are allowed letters, plain greeting cards and three (3) photos, and asks that no Polaroid pictures be sent.
• Phone cards and collect calls: the sheriff’s phone sheet says inmate phone cards can be bought online with a credit card at www.reliancetelephone.com, where an account can also be opened and paid online, and that collect calls to a home or cell phone number can be guaranteed by calling 800-896-3201. It adds that a telephone number may be restricted for a reason not known to its owner.
• Inmate voice mail: the sheet lists the Freeborn County Jail Inmate Voice Mail number, 507-391-9296.

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

Per this facility’s ICE page (checked October 16, 2026):

• Legal visit hours: 7 days a week, 8 a.m.–11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m. Visits can be in person, by telephone or by a Zoom type meeting; attorneys need to call ahead to schedule the meeting.
• Legal calls and video teleconferencing: visitation stations are in the lobby of the Law Enforcement Center in the Freeborn County Government Center, or online through inmatecanteen.com.
• G-28s can be filed through ERO eFile. Facility staff do not have access to ERO eFile; ICE says legal representatives should download a copy of the submitted G-28 for any in-person or remote legal visit.
• Case information: requests about people detained here go to StPaul.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov. This mailbox does not accept applications for Stay of Removal or Case Appeals.
• Finding a client’s Deportation Officer: ICE says representatives can get this from the field office at (612) 409-7799; a G-28 must be on file for any information to be disclosed.
• Pro bono list: a list of free legal organizations is posted in all detainee housing units and other appropriate areas and updated quarterly; ICE says contacting an organization for an appointment 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 St. Paul 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, 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1640, Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111, phone (612) 409-7799.
• 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 media representative who wants to interview someone held here must apply in writing to the St. Paul Field Office, Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations. The application must indicate 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 media representative must first obtain the detainee’s written permission. Media inquiries about ICE activities go to the ICE Office of Public Affairs at ICEMedia@ice.dhs.gov.

ICE inspection record

ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight (ODO), part of ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, carried out Compliance Inspection 2025-001-024 of this facility, which the report names the Freeborn County Adult Detention Center, Albert Lea, Minnesota (ERO Saint Paul), on March 4–6, 2025 (ODO report). Per ICE’s March 2025 inspection, the findings are organized by National Detention Standards 2019 major categories. The report says ODO records violations of ICE detention standards, ICE policies or operational procedures as “deficiencies” and marks with “C” those the facility corrected before the inspection ended.

287(g) agreements in Freeborn County

This facility is in Freeborn County, Minnesota (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 Minnesota
• Other ICE detention facilities in Minnesota
• All facilities under the St. Paul Field Office