Karnes County Immigration Processing Center

Karnes County Immigration Processing Center is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in Karnes City, Texas. It falls under the San Antonio 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: (830) 254-2000. Give the detainee’s full name, alien registration number (A-number), and your own name and a phone number where you can be reached; the facility passes the message on. The general facility line (830) 254-2500 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). Confirm current hours by calling (830) 254-2000 or checking the official ICE page linked above.

ICE publishes hours for that detainee-information line: it is answered 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Sunday. This facility also has tablets, and ICE points families to GettingOut (www.gettingout.com) to send a non-confidential message — non-confidential meaning it is not privileged, so it should never carry anything you would only tell a lawyer.

Visiting in person

Effective July 27, 2026, ICE publishes family visiting here from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., on days assigned by housing unit:

Visitors must arrive 30 minutes before visitation ends so security can process them, and ICE’s page says visit sessions will normally be a minimum of one hour a week, depending on the number of visitors and staff availability; the duty facility administrator may authorize more time for family who travelled a significant distance. Another passage of the same ICE page, checked October 15, 2026, says visits are based on the maximum occupancy of the visitation area and are “generally limited to 1 hour a week, depending on the number of visitors”; the page does not reconcile the two wordings, so ask the facility how long your visit can last. An adult of 18 or older must accompany any minor, and minors may not be left unattended in the waiting room. Each adult visitor may bring in a clear plastic bag or change purse holding up to $10 in coins and one debit or credit card — dollar bills are not allowed into the visitation area, and coins are for the vending machines. Visitors with infants may bring up to three diapers, a supply of wipes, and two bottles or a sippy cup, in a clear bag. Lockers are provided for everything else. ICE also publishes a dress code (nothing above mid-thigh, no sheer clothing, no bare midriffs, strapless or sleeveless tops, no open-toed shoes or flip-flops, no gang colors) and lists free public parking on the premises.

Anyone with a criminal record, anyone previously detained by ICE, and anyone currently in removal proceedings must notify the facility and be approved by the facility administrator before any visit — ICE says this applies to every visit, not only the first.

Attorney and legal-representative visits run Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Consular officials may visit at any time (ICE asks that arrangements be made with the ICE Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer at (830) 254-2500), and ICE asks them to bring appropriate credentials. Clergy may visit at any time but must make prior arrangements with the chaplain’s office at (830) 254-2000.

Sending mail, commissary funds, and personal items

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 April 2026 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). ICE gives the facility mail clerk for this facility as (830) 254-2000.

Putting money on a detainee’s account here

Cash a person is carrying when they arrive is receipted into their facility trust account. To add money afterwards, ICE publishes two routes for this facility — and the page does not fully agree with itself, so read both before you send anything.

• In person. Visitors may deposit cash at the facility Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. A kiosk in the front lobby is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and accepts cash, debit cards and credit cards.
• By mail. ICE gives this address for money orders and cashier’s checks only, each one marked with the detainee’s full name and A-number:

Karnes County Immigration Processing Center
Detainee's full name and A-number
409 FM 1144
Karnes City, TX 78118

The same ICE page also states that “All monies (cash, check, money order) arriving at the facility, via mail, will be returned to the sender.” Because ICE’s own page says both things, call (830) 254-2000 and confirm before you mail money. Letters here must carry the last four digits of the A-number plus the sender’s name and address; indigent detainees are given postage at government expense; and when someone is transferred or released, only legal mail is forwarded.

Items for travel or release

According to ICE’s Karnes facility page (checked October 23, 2026):

• ICE permits items determined necessary solely for travel or release from agency custody with the ICE deportation officer’s approval.
• ICE says detainees being removed from the United States are allowed one small piece of luggage. If a detainee has no such baggage, ICE permits it to be sent or delivered after approval from the supervisory deportation officer.

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 a legal visit, faxing documents, and identifying the deportation officer

In-person attorney visiting here is Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., and ICE says walk-in visits are still permitted. For virtual appointments beginning October 1, 2025, video teleconferences and confidential legal calls must be requested through ERO eFile, in 60-minute slots, up to two weeks ahead and no later than 48 hours before, with a maximum of two hours of appointments per representative per day. If no slot is available or the matter is exigent, ICE gives kccdc-bailiff@geogroup.com or (830) 254-2500; ICE’s page for this facility names GEO staff as the people who search visitors and handle incoming faxes here. Before selecting a time, representatives must enter their Zoom meeting ID and passcode in ERO eFile’s Virtual Meeting Information section. Appointments require an uploaded scan of the representative’s government-issued identification, proof of active legal-representative status and the attorney’s ERO eFile G-28 (unless the visit is pre-representational); otherwise the appointment may be canceled. If a legal assistant is the only representative joining the call, the email should also attach an authorization letter on firm or organization letterhead and a scan of the assistant’s identification.

Faxing legal documents. When timely communication through the mail is not possible, the facility administrator may, at their discretion, allow a reasonable amount of fax communication between the detainee and their designated legal representative. Legal representatives may send and receive legal paperwork at the visitation fax number (830) 254-2292, with a cover sheet giving the sender’s name, the law office, the address, the detained person’s name and A-number, the number of pages and the date. An incoming fax is placed in an envelope marked with the detainee’s name and A-number and hand-delivered by an ICE designee; it is inspected for contraband in the detainee’s presence and not read. The facility also keeps a fax machine in visitation for detainees to send documents out — a detainee can ask any staff member verbally or in writing to use it, and staff send the fax with the detainee present.

To identify the assigned deportation officer, a representative with a G-28 already on file calls (830) 254-2500. Other case-information requests for people held here go to SNALegalAccess-Karnes@ice.dhs.gov, which ICE notes does not accept stay-of-removal applications or case appeals.

Free legal providers on EOIR’s list for this facility

EOIR publishes its List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers court location by court location and updates it at least quarterly under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.61(b). Organizations and individual attorneys appear only after committing to at least 50 hours a year of uncompensated work at that court location, under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.62; referral services qualify on a different basis. ICE says the list is posted in every detainee housing unit and that it is the detainee’s own responsibility to contact a provider for an appointment. The October 2026 edition carries a page headed Karnes County Residential Center, the hearing location EOIR lists for Karnes City, Texas, naming:

These are free providers, not a guarantee of representation. If you do not know which immigration court holds the case, the automated hotline at 1-800-898-7180 will tell you from the A-number.

Posting a bond

Delivery and voluntary-departure bonds are paid through ICE’s CeBONDS system, not at the facility window. ICE’s published rules: bond-posting hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the time zone where the person is detained (Central Time for this facility), excluding government holidays; payment must be by Fedwire or ACH — no cash, no card; and the obligor must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, law firm or non-profit, and must show a qualifying document (U.S. passport, U.S. birth certificate, naturalization certificate, a REAL ID driver’s license or state ID card, military ID, or a permanent resident card). ICE adds that a detained person may post a voluntary-departure bond or an order-of-supervision bond on their own behalf. ICE says verification of the bond contract and payment typically takes one to two hours, during posting hours. An obligor may still walk into an ICE office, but even a walk-in needs access to banking services; ICE points obligors without a bank to a Treasury-certified surety company or to community organizations that assist with immigration bonds.

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 San Antonio 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.

For a concern about detention itself — conditions, a transfer, medical care, or a case that appears stuck — ICE publishes the Detention Reporting and Information Line (DRIL) at 1-888-351-4024 on its contact page for Enforcement and Removal Operations. A misconduct complaint can also go to the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility Integrity Coordination Center at 1-833-4ICE-OPR or ICEOPRIntake@ice.dhs.gov. Written complaints and service comments for this facility go to the Field Office Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations, 1777 NE Loop 410, Suite 1500, San Antonio, TX 78217.

ICE inspection record

Earlier inspection — March 2023. ODO’s March 2023 report records:

• ODO assessed 25 standards under PBNDS 2011 (Revised 2016), found compliance with 22 and identified seven deficiencies in the remaining three.
• ODO found no posted written guidelines for tracing procedures to locate an overdue vehicle.
• ODO found no primary-source license verification for the contract pharmacist, dentist, registered dental assistant, telehealth psychiatrist and telehealth psychologist.

ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight (ODO), part of ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, inspected this facility on April 21–23, 2026 (ODO report, Inspection 2026-001-116). It was the most recent report for this facility 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 2012, is owned by Karnes County and is operated by The GEO Group, Inc. ERO began housing detainees there in 2014 under ERO San Antonio. It is a dedicated ICE detention facility operating under the Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) 2011 (Revised 2016), and it holds male and female detainees of low and medium-low security classification for periods longer than 72 hours.
• Staffing and services: ERO has deportation officers assigned full time, on site Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. GEO provides food services and medical care, and Keefe Commissary Network provides commissary. The facility was accredited by the American Correctional Association in August 2024, and was audited and certified under the DHS Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards in February 2023.
• Findings: compliant with all 29 standards reviewed; no deficiencies.
• Detainee interviews: ODO interviewed 48 detainees (three more declined); none alleged discrimination, mistreatment or abuse. Ten complained about the portion sizes, taste, seasoning and quality of the food; ODO found a dietitian had approved the meals as nutritionally adequate and validated the taste, freshness, quality and smell of the food served and stored.
• Rating: Superior. ODO’s previous inspection, in fiscal year 2025 (June 2025), also found no deficiencies across 27 standards and was also rated Superior.

ODO redacts bed-capacity and population counts in the published report; for population, see the ICE statistics box above.

Earlier inspection — September 17–19, 2024. The ODO follow-up report records:

• ODO interviewed 27 detainees who voluntarily agreed to participate.
• After touring 3 housing units and reviewing their logbooks, ODO found that the third-shift supervisor had not signed the Rainforest housing-unit logbook from September 15 to 17, 2024.
• Neither the laundry officer’s nor the locksmith armory officer’s post orders stated the duty hours for that post.

287(g) agreements in Karnes County

This facility is in Karnes 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 San Antonio Field Office