Kenton County Detention Center

Kenton County Detention Center is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in Covington, Kentucky. It falls under the Chicago 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 (859) 363-2400. To leave an urgent message for a detainee, call (859) 363-2433 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 detainee-information line (859) 363-2400 can be called at any time. This facility’s visiting hours are listed under Visiting in person below (checked October 16, 2026).

Visiting in person

ICE’s page for this facility lists these rules (checked October 16, 2026):

• Friends and family: Monday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Detainees are allowed one hour of visitation per week, which can be divided into two 30-minute visits.
• Booking: call (866) 340-7879. A visit must be scheduled at least one business day before the desired date.
• Non-contact: all family or other social visits are non-contact.
• Search: 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 refusing to cooperate with a reasonable search is not admitted.
• Not allowed: firearms or weapons of any kind; passing or attempting to pass any items to detainees; carrying any items into the visitation area; electronic devices (cell phones, pagers, radios, etc.) in the secure areas. Visitors who are or appear to be intoxicated are not allowed to visit.
• Clergy may visit at any time but must make prior arrangements with the Chaplain’s Office.
• Consular officials may meet with their detained nationals at any time. ICE asks that prior arrangements be made with the ICE Supervisory Deportation Officer to the extent possible and that consular officials bring appropriate credentials. The ICE officer for this facility is reached through the Chicago, IL detained unit at CHI-ERO-Detained@ice.dhs.gov.
• Parking: ICE says free public parking is available at the facility.

Sending mail, commissary funds, and personal items

Each facility publishes its own address format for letters to detainees. For this facility, ICE’s format uses the detainee’s name and the last four digits of the A-number, and letters must include the sender’s name and address (see the address block below). 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 2019 national standard allows more than that. Under ICE’s National Detention Standards, Revised 2019, §5.1(E) — cited here for comparison only, because ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight inspected this facility in June and July 2026 under the Federal Performance-Based Detention Standards (FPBDS, May 2025) instead (inspection report), and we have not reviewed that standard’s mail rules — 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

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

• Letters must be addressed as shown below and include the sender’s name and address. All incoming mail is subject to screening for contraband and then delivered to the detainee.

Kenton County Jail / Detention Center
C/O Detainee Name, last four digits of the A Number
3000 Decker Crane Ln.
Covington KY, 41017

• Commissary money: ICE directs deposits for commissary use to Careacell.jointaccounts.com.
• Phone-minute money: call Combine Public Communications at (702) 829-3001 or visit www.Inmatesales.com.
• Tablet messages: the facility has tablets; information on sending a non-confidential message is at www.inmatesales.com.
• Packages: before sending one, email the Chicago, IL detained unit at CHI-ERO-Detained@ice.dhs.gov. A detainee may receive items determined to be necessary for the sole purpose of travel or release from custody, only with approval of the ICE Deportation Officer.
• Luggage for removal: one small piece is allowed. If the detainee has no baggage, one 40 lb bag can be sent or delivered after approval from the Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer. No electronic devices (cell phones, electric razors, laptop computers, radios, etc.) are accepted.
• 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.
• Transfers and departures: only legal mail is forwarded; general correspondence is endorsed “Return to Sender” and returned to the post office.

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

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

• In-person attorney visits: Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Appointments outside those hours may be granted on a case-by-case basis if there are extenuating circumstances.
• G-28s can be submitted through ERO eFile. Facility staff do not have access to ERO eFile, so ICE says legal representatives should download copies of their submitted G-28 for any in-person or remote legal visit.
• Video teleconference (VTC) meetings and confidential legal phone calls are requested by email to KCDCICEATTY@kentoncounty.org. The facility emails back with instructions on setting up an account with Combine Public Communications for a Private Attorney Visit.
• The email should include: the representative’s full name and contact information (phone and email); the detainee’s name and A-number; a few proposed dates and times; a scan of the representative’s government-issued ID; a scan of documentation of active legal-representative status (such as a state bar card, attorney license or paralegal license); and the DHS Form G-28, unless the session is pre-representational. A legal assistant joining alone must also attach a letter of authorization on the firm’s or organization’s letterhead and a scan of the assistant’s ID.
• Timing: appointments should be made 24 hours before the desired time; they are scheduled 6 a.m.–9 p.m. in 30- to 60-minute increments. ICE says legal representatives are not limited in the number of VTC appointments they can request, but no representative may have more than one 60-minute appointment with a detainee in a single day.
• Only legal representatives, legal assistants and interpreters may attend — no family or friends. Outside interpretation services may be contacted during the session. A visitation officer stays outside the room, out of earshot but within eyeshot, and knocks 5 minutes before the cut-off time.
• Representatives and their staff may not video or audio record any visit or call; ICE says any violation of these rules may result in suspension or permanent revocation of VAV user privileges.

Sending legal documents to a detained client

• Fax to a client: (859) 363-0425, with a cover letter giving the detainee’s full name, A-number, the sender’s return fax number and the total number of pages. The fax is delivered in a sealed envelope; documents are inspected for contraband but not read. Legal fax requests are processed Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays. ICE states that fax communication is allowed “When timely communication through the mail is not possible”, at the facility administrator’s discretion.
• Faxes from a detainee to a representative: ICE’s page says detainees can send these requests to their assigned case manager through the facility tablet. The case manager schedules the detainee to report to the court room with the representative’s name, the law firm’s name (if any), the law firm’s (or legal representative’s) address, and office telephone and fax numbers. The detainee completes a fax cover sheet there; the court room officer inspects the outgoing documents for contraband in the detainee’s presence without reading them, faxes them in the detainee’s presence, and returns the originals and the fax confirmation to the detainee (checked October 19, 2026).
• Logging: ICE says all legal faxes sent and received through the court room are treated as confidential legal correspondence, documented in a logbook and processed by the court officer; court room staff file the transmission verification report and give a copy to the detainee.
• Case information: requests can be sent to Chicago.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov; this mailbox does not accept applications for Stay of Removal or Case Appeals.
• Identifying a client’s Deportation Officer: email CHI-ERO-Detained@ice.dhs.gov; a G-28 must be on file for any information to be disclosed.
• Pro bono list: posted in all detainee housing units and updated quarterly; contacting a provider 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 Chicago 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, 101 W Ida B Wells Drive, Suite 4000, Chicago, Illinois 60605, (872) 351-3990.
• 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.
• DHS OIG, as listed on ICE’s page: DHS Office of Inspector General, Attn: Office of Investigations - Hotline, 245 Murray Drive, Building 410 Stop: 2600, Washington, DC 20528; fax (202) 245-5217; DHSOIGHOTLINE@DHS.GOV.

A news reporter who wants to interview someone held here must apply in writing to the Chicago 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

ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight (ODO) issued inspection report 2026-006-101 for this facility, under the name Kenton County Jail, Covington, Kentucky, dated July 7, 2026 (ODO report). The report carries the heading of ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility and is filed under ERO Chicago. It organizes its findings by the Federal Performance-Based Detention Standards (May 2025), and its table of contents lists inspection-findings sections for Administration and Management and Staff Training.

287(g) agreements in Kenton County

This facility is in Kenton County, Kentucky (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 Kentucky
• Other ICE detention facilities in Kentucky
• All facilities under the Chicago Field Office