Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center

Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in Bakersfield, California. It falls under the San Francisco 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 separate lines on the same number for this facility. To ask whether someone is held here, call (661) 859-1028 (menu option 2). To leave an urgent message for a detainee, call (661) 859-1028 ext. 101 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, (661) 859-1028 (menu option 2), takes calls between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. (checked October 16, 2026); the visiting schedule is below.

Visiting in person

ICE’s page for this facility (checked October 16, 2026) says friends and family visitation “is allowed seven (7) days a week,” with set days for each housing unit:

• Check-in: visitors may arrive at any time but are advised to check in no later than 30 minutes before the close of visitation. The same page says “Visitation closes at 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10:30 p.m. on weekends” and that extended time past the close of visitation is not permitted regardless of arrival time.
• Length and group size: visits are allowed for one hour, and a detainee may request extra time through a detainee request; the page also says visits “shall not exceed 60 minutes.” No more than two visitors per visit.
• 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.
• Dress code: shorts no higher than mid-thigh when seated; skirts and dresses to mid-thigh while seated; no sheer, see-through, overly tight or transparent clothing, and no leggings; no bare midriffs, strapless or low-cut tube tops, swimsuits, muscle shirts or sleeveless shirts; shirts and shoes at all times; no gang colors or displays; no hats, beanies or hoods. Religious head dressings get special consideration, but visitors may be asked to remove them for visual inspection for contraband; if the visitor requests it, that inspection is done by a staff member of the same sex in a reasonably private location.
• Search and restrictions: everyone entering 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; no electronic devices (cell phones, pagers, radios, etc.) in the secure areas; visitors may not carry any items into the visitation area or pass items to detainees; visitors who are or appear intoxicated are not allowed to visit.
• Parking: free public parking is available at the facility.
• Consular officials may meet their detained nationals at any time; ICE requests that they make prior arrangements with the ICE Supervisory Deportation Officer, (661) 328-4500, to the extent possible, and bring appropriate credentials.
• Clergy may visit at any time but must make prior arrangements with the Chaplain’s Office at (661) 859-1028.

Sending mail, commissary funds, and personal items

Each facility publishes its own address format for letters and packages (this facility’s rules are listed 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 detention standards allow more than that. ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight inspected this facility in August 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).

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

From 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. Outgoing mail is routed to the post office within 24 hours of receipt by facility staff, and 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 in person: visitors may deposit cash only at the facility, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
• Money by phone or online: through JailATM at 1-877-810-0914 or the website www.JPay.com.
• Money by mail: send money orders and cashier’s or state/federal checks with the detainee’s full name and A-number to the address below. ICE cautions detainees not to have cash sent to them in the mail; funds received by mail are placed into the detainee’s account and the processing officer provides a receipt.

Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center
425 Golden State Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93301

• Packages: only items determined to be of necessity for the sole purpose of travel or release from custody, with approval of the ICE Deportation Officer, reachable at (661) 328-4500, menu option 2. Before sending a package, ICE’s page says to contact the facility mail clerk at (661) 859-1028; a second passage on the same page says to contact the Property Officer at “GEO – Mesa Verde Detention Facility,” 425 Golden State Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301.
• 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, (661) 328-4500, menu option 2. No electronic devices (cell phones, electric razors, laptop computers, radios, etc.) are accepted.

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

• G-28s can be submitted through ERO eFile. Facility staff do not have access to it, so ICE says legal representatives should download copies of their submitted G-28 for any in-person or remote legal visit.
• In-person legal visits: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. For visits starting November 1, 2025, they can be scheduled in advance through ERO eFile, first come first served, in 60-minute increments. Walk-ins are still permitted, but scheduled visits are prioritized. A representative who does not already have clearance from ICE ERO to enter must fill out the Building Access Form and submit it to mvipcattorney@geogroup.com.
• After-hours legal visits: Monday through Friday, 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., scheduled in advance through mvipcattorney@geogroup.com or (661) 859-1028.
• Video teleconference (VAV) sessions and confidential legal phone calls must be requested through ERO eFile for all scheduled appointments starting November 1, 2025, and are subject to availability 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. They can be booked up to 2 weeks in advance but no later than 24 hours before, in 60-minute intervals; a representative may have only one 60-minute appointment with a detainee per day unless pre-approved by the facility. The facility reserves the right to cancel or reschedule for safety or security risk or to ensure equal access.
• What the request needs: the representative’s full name and contact details (phone and email), the detainee’s name and A-number (otherwise a search by name, date of birth and country of birth), and the Zoom or Webex meeting ID and passcode — or the phone number for a legal call only. Uploads (otherwise the appointment may be subject to cancellation): a scan of the representative’s government-issued ID; proof of active legal-representative status (such as a state bar card, attorney or paralegal license); and the ERO eFile G-28, unless the visit is pre-representational. ICE states: «If a legal representative is making a request consistent with PBNDS 2011 Section 5.7 (V.N.1) and Section 4.3 (V.FF) , the legal representative must upload the written request in the Attorney Authorization Letter field and the Professional Licensure/Curriculum Vitae to the Medical/Mental Health Evaluators field.» A legal assistant joining alone also needs a letter of authorization on the firm’s or organization’s letterhead and a scan of the assistant’s ID. Breaking the Virtual Attorney Visitation guidelines may lead to cancellation or termination of a session and/or suspension of future requests.
• Who attends: only legal representatives, legal assistants and interpreters — 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.
• No slot available, or an exigent circumstance: mvipcattorney@geogroup.com or the facility line (661) 859-1028.
• Pro bono list: posted in all housing units and updated quarterly; contacting a provider is the detainee’s responsibility.

Sending legal documents and case inquiries

• Fax to a detained client: when timely communication by mail is not possible, the facility administrator may, at his or her discretion, allow it. ICE lists the legal fax number (661) 852-0128. The cover sheet must give the sender’s name, the law office name, the address, the detainee’s name and identification number, the sender’s return fax number, the number of pages and the date. Incoming faxes are placed in a sealed envelope, inspected for contraband but not read, and delivered; requests are processed during normal business hours Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Detainees request outgoing fax services from the library technician.
• Case information and the Deportation Officer: ICE’s Mesa Verde page lists SanFrancisco.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov, wording the case-information entry as requests “pertaining to aliens detained at the Golden State Annex”; the mailbox does not accept applications for Stay of Removal or Case Appeals. To learn a client’s Deportation Officer, contact the San Francisco Field Office at the same address; a G-28 must be on file for any information to be disclosed.
• Non-confidential messages: the facility has tablets; ICE points to www.gettingout.com for how to send a message.

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 Francisco 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, 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, phone (415) 365-8800.
• 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 (423677) or ICEOPRIntake@ice.dhs.gov.

A news reporter who wants to interview someone held here must apply in writing to the San Francisco Field Office, Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations. ICE says a detainee has the right not to be interviewed, photographed or recorded, 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), within ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, inspected Mesa Verde on August 18–20, 2026 (Inspection 2026-001-170; ODO report). Per ICE’s August 2026 inspection:

• Standard: findings are organized by the Performance-Based National Detention Standards 2011 (Revised 2016) major categories; the report is filed under ERO San Francisco.
• Standards listed in the report’s Inspection Findings section: Searches of Detainees and Use of Force and Restraints (Security), Medical Care (Care), and Telephone Access (Activities).
• ODO defines a deficiency as any violation of detention standards, policies, or operational procedures, and marks deficiencies the facility resolved before the inspection ended as corrective actions, annotated with a “C”.

Earlier inspections

• For June 11-13, 2024, ODO cited a deficiency because a qualified contractor had last inspected the food-service fixed fire-suppression system on November 17, 2023; the standard ODO quotes requires a qualified contractor to inspect the system every six months (ODO report).
• For January 9-11, 2024, ODO reported compliance with 27 of 29 standards under PBNDS 2011 (Revised 2016), with two deficiencies in the remaining two standards (ODO report).
• For June 6-8, 2023, ODO reported no floor drains in any of the three hold rooms, a repeat deficiency (ODO report).

ICE’s ODO inspection list also lists these earlier inspections:

• Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center, Bakersfield CA - Jul. 23-25, 2019.
• Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center, Bakersfield, CA - Jul. 6-9, 2020.
• Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center, Bakersfield, CA - Dec. 6-10, 2021.

The ODO compliance inspection report for December 6-10, 2021 states that the facility complied with 21 of 24 standards reviewed under PBNDS 2011 (Revised 2016), with six deficiencies in the remaining three standards. These are historical inspection findings.

287(g) agreements: ICE's 287(g) participating-agencies workbook, dated October 9, 2026, lists no agency in California. (source: ICE · what 287(g) is)

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 California
• Other ICE detention facilities in California
• All facilities under the San Francisco Field Office