Mahoning County Justice Center

Mahoning County Justice Center is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in Youngstown, Ohio. It falls under the Detroit 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 (330) 480-4950. To leave an urgent message for a detainee, call (330) 480-4942 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 (330) 480-5000 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 (330) 480-4950 line takes calls 24 hours a day (checked October 19, 2026).

Visiting in person

(checked October 16, 2026)

• One (1) 30 minute visit per week; daily times depend on housing unit and visits must be scheduled at least twenty-four (24) hours ahead with the housing unit deputy.
• All visitors must be registered; the limit is two adults and one child at a time. Visitors must show government-issued photo ID and submit to a metal-detector search.
• Juveniles must be accompanied by an adult; visitation privileges may be restricted for security or disciplinary reasons.
• Dress and belongings (ICE’s page, checked October 19, 2026): visitors must be dressed properly, with no revealing clothes. No bags, purses, hats, coats, cameras or cell phones are permitted in the visiting area; lockers are available in the lobby.

Video visits and phone calls

What the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Inmate Information page on mahoningcountyoh.gov says (checked October 19, 2026):

• Video visits: registration is at www.smartinmate.com, and every video visit must be approved at least 24 hours in advance. The county says all inmates receive one free 20-minute video visit per week, and additional visits may be purchased.
• Recreation-time rule: video visits cannot be scheduled during the housing pod’s recreation time; a visit scheduled then is cancelled without notice and with no refund. The county says using the video visitation system constitutes consent to monitoring and recording.
• Phone accounts: the county says the jail’s phone service is changing and names Smart Communications as the new provider; family and friends can set up accounts at 1-727-349-1561 or www.smartinmate.com. Calls are subject to monitoring and recording. The county says funds on an account with the current provider are not transferred, and refunds are requested from that provider.
• Other jail lines the county lists: Inmate Commissary 330-480-4955, Inmate Medical 330-480-4960, Jail Administration 330-480-4920.

Sending mail, commissary funds, and personal items

Letters require the last four digits of the A-number, plus the sender’s name and address (checked October 16, 2026). The facility-specific mailing format and package conditions ICE lists are below. 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 we have not confirmed which detention standard governs this facility — 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). Under that standard, ordinary letters do not carry that protection. 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 own ICE page (linked above) sets out its rules for sending money and items in its Sending Items to Detainees section.

What ICE publishes for this facility’s mail, money, and packages

(checked October 16, 2026)

• Money orders sent through United States Postal Service must reference the detainee’s name; ICE gives 110 Fifth Avenue, Youngstown, Ohio, 44503. Money must not be given directly to detainees. ICE says money can also be placed on the detainee’s account through the website jailatm.com (checked October 19, 2026).
• Items must be necessary solely for travel or release, with ICE Deportation Officer approval.
• ICE says an approval request must be sent to ICE before a package is sent; once ICE approves it, ICE advises the facility. Only items up to 40LB are allowed to be sent to the facility for release, and nonapproved items are not allowed into the facility (checked October 19, 2026).

What the jail’s inmate handbook says

The Mahoning County Justice Center Inmate Rules of Conduct and Handbook (county PDF, revised September 18, 2026) says:

• Sick call is conducted by the medical staff daily; requests to see the jail physician or nurse go to medical staff through a tablet or terminal in the housing unit.
• Dental requests are made at sick call or on a medical request form so that an appointment can be scheduled.
• Asking to speak to a supervisor: a request to speak to a supervisor or other personnel must state the reason in the comments section.
• Grievance appeals: a person who disagrees with the response may appeal the same issue to an Officer-in-Charge or to the Jail Administrator or his designee, through the inmate request/grievance process.
• Indigent inmates with no commissary funds must also submit a commissary order to receive the items they are entitled to; each indigent inmate receives each week toothpaste, soap and deodorant; two stamped envelopes and writing paper; and personal laundry detergent.
• Undelivered commissary: a person released or transferred before receiving a commissary order has 72 hours (3 days) to claim it; orders left beyond that time are forfeited.
• Work: federal detainees are not permitted to be assigned to any work details outside their own housing units.
• Library and legal materials: over 10,000 e-book titles are available free on all tablets. Law books are available on request to the housing unit deputy, may not be kept in the cell, and must be returned; a law library app is available on all tablets and housing-unit terminals.

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

(checked October 16, 2026)

• Legal representatives are authorized to visit their clients 24 hours a day.
• Requests by email: ICE says legal representatives may request VTC meetings or confidential legal calls by email at jailismgroup@mahoningcountyoh.gov, and the Justice Center court officers email back with a confirmed date and time. ICE lists what the email should include: the representative’s name and contact details, the detainee’s name and A-number, a few proposed dates and times, a scan of the representative’s government-issued ID, proof of active legal-representative status, and the DHS Form G-28 unless the meeting is pre-representational (checked October 19, 2026).
• Legal representatives may schedule VTC meetings or calls by dialing (330) 480-4942 for the scheduling officer.
• ICE says appointments should be made 24 hours ahead. Slots run 6 a.m. – 9 p.m., in 30 to 60-minute increments.
• Representatives may request multiple VTC appointments, but no 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.
• No recording: ICE says legal representatives and their staff are not permitted to video or audio record during any virtual or in-person visit or call with detainees; a violation may result in suspension or permanent revocation of VAV user privileges.
• Legal faxes to a detainee: ICE’s page says that when timely communication through the mail is not possible, the facility administrator may, at their discretion, allow a reasonable amount of electronic written communication. ICE gives the fax number (330) 480-5099. The cover letter must include the detainee’s full name and A-number, the sender’s return fax number and the total number of pages. The fax is delivered in a sealed envelope with the detainee’s name and A-number, inspected for contraband but not read. Fax requests are processed Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays.
• Case information: ICE says requests can be sent to Detroit.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov; this mailbox does not accept applications for Stay of Removal or Case Appeals.
• Deportation Officer: ICE’s page gives (216) 749-9200 for identifying a client’s Deportation Officer; a G-28 must be on file for any information to be disclosed. ICE lists the same number for the facility’s ICE Supervisory Deportation Officer, with whom consular officials are asked to make prior arrangements to the extent possible.

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 lists the Field Office Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 985 Michigan Avenue, Suite 207, Detroit, MI 48226, (313) 771-6601 for comments on service and for misconduct complaints about an ICE or contract employee (checked October 19, 2026).

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