Geauga County Safety Center

Geauga County Safety Center is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in Chardon, Ohio. It falls under the Detroit Field Office ERO field office area of responsibility.

The Geauga County Sheriff’s Office says the Safety Center has a rated capacity of 182 beds, and that of the 2,087 prisoners it received and processed in 2024, 319 were immigration detainees. Its corrections page (checked October 19, 2026) says sick call is conducted five days a week by jail medical staff (a physician and registered nurses), dental care is provided through On Site Dental, Inc., and crisis intervention for mental health emergencies is provided by Ravenwood Mental Health Center.

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 (216) 535-0368. To leave an urgent message for a detainee, call (440) 279-2009 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 (216) 535-0368 line takes calls between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. (checked October 16, 2026). The facility also has tablets and “Chirp” texting devices for sending a detainee a non-confidential message; ICE points to the Geauga Sheriff’s Office’s Chirp device informational web page for instructions.

Phones and Chirp texting (Sheriff’s Office rules)

Per the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office corrections page (checked October 19, 2026):

• Phones: housing-unit phones are available from approximately 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily and make outgoing calls only. Calls can be made collect, with phone time bought through commissary, through an account family or friends set up at www.inmatesales.com, or with money added at the CPC phone kiosk in the lobby.
• Chirp texting devices: available approximately 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily. The detainee must request a device, and it is funded by family or friends through an inmatesales.com account. The Sheriff’s Office lists a $4.00 monthly device fee and $.10 per text; the devices are for text only, with no attachments or photos.

Visiting in person

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

• Hours: visiting hours are posted in each housing unit on the kiosks and in the lobby, and on the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office web site, which ICE also points to for the rules on visitation.
• Allowance: detainees are permitted 60 minutes of visitation per week in 30-minute increments. All family or other social visits are non-contact.
• Video visits: available in general-population housing units seven days a week, one 25-minute video per day. Each video visit must be scheduled at least 12 hours in advance on the InmateSales web site. Onsite videos are available at no cost and must also be scheduled 12 hours in advance on InmateSales.
• ID and minors: adult visitors must present a valid, verifiable government-issued identification card. 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.
• Restrictions: no firearms or weapons of any kind. Visitors who are or appear to be intoxicated will not be allowed to visit. Visitors may not pass or attempt to pass any items to detainees and may not carry any items into the visitation area.
• Search: everyone requesting admittance is subject to a pat-down search, an inspection of belongings and a metal scan. Anyone refusing a reasonable search will not be admitted. No electronic devices (cell phones, pagers, radios, etc.) are permitted in the secure areas.
• Consular visits: consular officials may meet with their detained nationals at any time. ICE asks that prior arrangements be made with the ICE Supervisory Deportation Officer, reachable at (216) 535-0368, to the extent possible, and that officials bring appropriate credentials.
• Clergy visits: clergy may visit at any time, but must make prior arrangements with the Chaplain’s Office.
• Parking: in the front of the building.

The Sheriff’s Office’s own Inmate Visitation page (checked October 19, 2026) adds these video-visit rules:

• Scheduling: at www.inmatesales.com or by phone at 1-877-998-5678 (the same 12-hour advance rule ICE lists). The registering visitor must be at least 18 and provide a valid government-issued photo ID at the initial registration; visitors under 18 must have a parent or guardian present during the video visit.
• Cost: remote (smartphone or computer) visits are charged at the same rates as a phone call; the on-site station is in the facility lobby.
• Remote visit windows (25-minute increments): 9:00 am – 10:55 am, 11:30 am – 2:25 pm, 3:00 pm – 4:55 pm and 7:00 pm – 10:25 pm.
• Monitoring: all video visits are recorded and subject to electronic monitoring by county personnel.
• Penalties: for nudity, provocative or tight-fitting clothing during a video visit, the page lists a 30-day bar from all on-site and off-site video visitation for a first violation and a permanent bar from all visitation for a second.

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). 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

Checked October 16, 2026:

• Letters: all incoming mail is subject to screening for contraband. It is scanned and delivered to the detainee via the kiosk, and the original letter is placed into the detainee’s property. Detainees may seal their outgoing letters, and outgoing mail is routed to the post office by the next business day. A mail pick-up and delivery schedule is posted in all housing units.
• Stamps: detainees may buy them. ICE says “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 facility account) get a postage allowance at government expense.
• Money by mail: funds received in the mail are taken to the processing area and placed into the detainee’s account, and the processing officer provides a receipt. ICE cautions detainees not to have cash sent to them in the mail. ICE’s page names no other deposit method for this facility.
• 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. Before sending a package, contact the Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer:

Cleveland ERO Office
(216) 535-0368
1240 E. 9th Street
Cleveland, OH 44199

• 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.

What the Sheriff’s Office publishes for mail and money

The Geauga County Sheriff’s Office corrections page (checked October 19, 2026) says:

• Address format: Inmate’s Full Name, C/O Geauga County Jail, 12450 Merritt Road, Chardon, Ohio 44024-0224. Mail is received Monday – Saturday, excluding holidays. The page says all mail is scanned and delivered electronically to the detainee on the housing-unit kiosk, and the original is placed in the detainee’s personal property.
• Return address: letters without a complete and legible return address are logged as received and placed in the detainee’s personal property without being scanned to the detainee.
• Size and pages: all incoming mail must be 8½ x 11 inches (letter size) and no thicker than standard paper, with a maximum of five pages. No cards are accepted, and one photograph per letter is accepted, provided it is not provocative in any way (the page’s examples include threats, gang insignia, obscene gestures or drawings, nudity and provocative clothing).
• Destroyed unscanned: mail with glitter, glue, lipstick, perfume, stickers, labels, tape or any unknown item.
• Not accepted: COD and postage-due mail, packages, and reading material, envelopes and stamps; the jail provides reading materials (books, magazines, newspapers).
• Money: the Sheriff’s Office says no checks are accepted and cash is not to be sent by mail; money can be deposited at the kiosk in the Safety Center lobby with cash or a credit card, and phone accounts are funded at www.inmatesales.com.
• Commissary deposits and money orders — the page contradicts itself: its commissary section names accesscorrections.com for online deposits and says money orders must be mailed to Access Corrections and are not accepted at the facility, while its mail section names www.jailatm.com for commissary deposits and says a money order may be mailed in for an inmate.

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

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

• Attorney visits: legal representatives may visit their clients 7 days a week with no restrictions, with the exception of a facility emergency. For special instructions, attorneys should call (440) 279-2009, extension 4411.
• G-28s can be submitted through ERO eFile. Facility staff do not have access to ERO eFile, so representatives should download copies of their submitted G-28 for any in-person or remote legal visit.
• Case information: requests about people detained here go to Detroit.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov. This mailbox does not accept applications for Stay of Removal or Case Appeals.
• Finding the Deportation Officer: call the Cleveland ERO Office at (216) 749-9200. A G-28 must be on file for any information to be disclosed.
• Pro bono list: posted in all detainee housing units and other appropriate areas and updated quarterly. Contacting a listed 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 Detroit 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, 985 Michigan Avenue, Suite 207, Detroit, MI 48226, (313) 771-6601.
• 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 Detroit 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. Media inquiries about ICE go to ICEMedia@ice.dhs.gov.

ICE inspection record

• August 9–11, 2022 follow-up inspection: the ODO report found that the facility issued two pairs of socks per detainee and permitted laundry once per week, rather than exchanging socks daily.
• March 15–17, 2022 inspection: the ODO report found that the facility stored identity documents in detainees’ property instead of providing them to ERO Detroit for inclusion in their non-citizen files. ODO also found that food-service staff did not document dry storeroom temperatures to ensure they were between 45 to 80 Fahrenheit degrees.

ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight (ODO), part of ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, carried out a compliance inspection of this facility on January 28–30, 2025 (ODO report). The report calls the facility Geauga County Jail and applied the National Detention Standards (NDS) 2019. Per ICE’s January 2025 inspection:

• Findings: ODO assessed 21 standards and found the facility in compliance with 18. It found nine deficiencies in the remaining three standards:

• Area of concern: all three health care prescribers had valid certifications, but only one of the three had been verified by the National Practitioner Data Bank.
• Detainee interviews: ODO interviewed four detainees, and 37 others declined. None alleged discrimination, mistreatment or abuse, and all four reported satisfaction with facility services.
• Trend: at its last rated inspection in February 2024, the facility had 9 deficient standards and 25 deficiencies. ODO wrote that the facility’s corrective action plan from that inspection “may not have been effective in resolving the repeat deficiencies ODO cited”. It recommended that ERO Detroit continue to work with the facility to resolve the remaining deficiencies.
• Earlier inspections: ODO’s facility-inspections index (checked October 19, 2026) also lists inspections of “Geauga County Jail, Chardon, OH” on March 29–31, 2016 and July 20–23, 2020.
• January 31–February 2, 2023 inspection: ICE’s ODO report says ODO assessed 24 standards (22 under NDS 2000 and 2 under NDS 2019), found compliance with 21, and found 15 deficiencies in the remaining three. One finding was a kitchen lavatory with no soap or means of hand-drying; the report records it as corrected before the inspection ended (ODO observed the lavatory stocked with soap and paper towels on February 2, 2023).

287(g) agreements in Geauga County

This facility is in Geauga County, Ohio (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 Ohio
• Other ICE detention facilities in Ohio
• All facilities under the Detroit Field Office