Pottawattamie County Jail

Pottawattamie County Jail is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It falls under the St. Paul 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, call the number ICE publishes for detainee information: (712) 890-2250 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m (checked October 16, 2026). Have the detainee’s full name, alien registration number (A-number), date of birth and country of birth ready. ICE’s page says no messages for detainees will be taken by detention staff unless it is a verifiable emergency. Detainees cannot receive incoming calls — they place outgoing calls themselves; after booking, all their calls are collect, paid by the person who receives them (checked October 16, 2026). Have the person’s biographical information ready when you call (full legal name and any aliases, date of birth, and country of birth). Contact and visitation hours vary by facility — confirm current hours by calling (712) 890-2250 or checking the official ICE page linked above.

Sending mail, commissary funds, and personal items

ICE’s page for this facility says letters must include the detainee’s full name and the last four digits of the detainee’s A-number (File Number), plus the sender’s name and address (checked October 16, 2026); other facilities publish their own formats. 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

Per ICE’s page for Pottawattamie County Jail (checked October 16, 2026):

• Address: ICE gives this address block. Separately, its letter rule requires the last four digits of the detainee’s A-number, plus the sender’s name and address:

Inmate's Name
Pottawattamie County Jail
1400 Big Lake Rd.
Council Bluffs, IA 51501

• Items the jail will not accept by mail: packages, obscene or pornographic materials, personal checks, cashier’s checks, postage stamps or stamped envelopes, any type of food, and periodicals not sent directly from the publisher. Detainees receive photocopies of their mail; the original is placed with their property.
• Money: telephone and canteen accounts run through a contract with TurnKey Corrections (ICE’s page says the telephone contract has been in effect since May 15, 2018; checked October 19, 2026); ICE’s page directs people to InmateCanteen.com to set up an account or put money on a detainee’s calling or canteen account. Funds that arrive by mail are placed into the detainee’s account and the processing officer gives a receipt; ICE’s page cautions detainees not to have cash sent to them in the mail.
• Electronic messages: detainees have kiosk access. Non-confidential messages are sent through team3.inmatecanteen.com, where an account must be created; the system works by email or SMS.
• Outgoing mail: detainees may seal their own letters; outgoing mail is routed to the post office within 24 hours of receipt by facility staff, and a pick-up and delivery schedule is posted in all housing units.
• Stamps: detainees may buy them; indigent detainees (no means of 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 returned to sender.
• Items for travel or release: only items needed solely for travel or release from custody, with the ICE Deportation Officer’s approval.
• 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.

Visiting in person

Per ICE’s page (checked October 16, 2026; the page shows ‘Updated: 08/06/2026’):

• Format: regular visits use a video visitation system, and all family and social visits are non-contact.
• Schedule (all housing areas), Monday through Friday: 9 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.; 3 p.m. to 3:40 p.m.; 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. (dependent on housing location). Holiday schedules vary by holiday; call the front desk at (712) 890-2250.
• Limits: first come, first served; each visit is 20 minutes; each detainee can receive a maximum of two 20-minute visits per week; a visitor may visit only one detainee per day. Detainees on certain types of disciplinary restriction may not be permitted visitors.
• Home visitation is provided through TurnKey Corrections: visitors register an account online or at a lobby kiosk and should allow up to 24 hours for approval.
• Minors: visitors under 18 must be accompanied by an adult and have their birth certificate or guardian papers present; children must be supervised at all times.
• Search: 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 secure areas. Visitors may not pass items to detainees or carry items into the visitation area; no food or drinks; intoxicated visitors are not allowed to visit.
• Dress code: conservative dress; see-through clothing, low-cut tops, short or cut-off shirts, short splits, belly or midriff shirts, and clothing with vulgarity, profanity or racial slurs are prohibited. A violation means the visit is denied until it is corrected.
• Consular visits: consular officials may meet their nationals at any time; ICE requests prior arrangements with the ICE Supervisory Deportation Officer, (612) 409-7799, to the extent possible, and appropriate credentials.
• Clergy: may visit at any time but must make prior arrangements with the Chaplain’s Office.
• Parking: free public parking is available at the facility.

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

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

• In-person legal visits: legal representatives are authorized to visit any time of day, 7 days a week. ICE’s page encourages setting professional visits up in advance by contacting the Jail Administration.
• Other professional visits: ICE’s page says inmates have the right to confidential visits, any time of day, 7 days a week, with these persons acting in their official capacity: attorneys or authorized members of their staff, clergy cleared by the jail, mental health professionals cleared by the jail, personal physicians or psychiatrists, law enforcement officers, probation and parole officers, or social workers (checked October 19, 2026).
• G-28s can be submitted through ERO eFile. Facility staff do not have access to it, so representatives should download a copy of the submitted G-28 for any in-person or remote legal visit.
• Legal calls and legal video teleconferencing are scheduled by contacting the front desk at (712) 890-2250, Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Legal documents by fax: a request to fax legal information to a detainee may be allowed upon contact with the front desk at (712) 890-2250.
• Case information: requests may be sent to Booking.Mail@pottcounty-ia.gov; this mailbox does not accept applications for Stay of Removal or Case Appeals.
• Identifying the Deportation Officer: contact the St. Paul Field Office at (612) 409-7799; 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 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 St. Paul 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, 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1640, Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111; for misconduct complaints ICE also lists (612) 409-7799.
• 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.
• News media: a reporter who wants to interview a detainee must apply in writing to the St. Paul Field Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations, indicating familiarity with and agreement to comply with the facility rules and regulations provided by staff; a detainee has the right not to be interviewed, photographed or recorded, and the reporter must first obtain the detainee’s written permission. ICE’s page says “Ordinarily, live television or radio interviews will not be permitted in the facility.” Media inquiries about ICE go to ICEMedia@ice.dhs.gov.

ICE inspection record

ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight (ODO), part of ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, conducted compliance inspection 2025-001-001 of Pottawattamie County Jail, under ERO’s Saint Paul Field Office, on October 22–24, 2024 (ODO report). The report organizes its findings by the National Detention Standards (NDS) 2019. Findings described in the report, per ICE’s October 2024 inspection:

• Medical Care: medical staff did not obtain separate documented informed-consent forms describing side effects before administering psychotropic medications — a repeat deficiency and a priority component.
• Recreation: staff did not record in special management unit (SMU) files whether detainees received recreation at least 1 hour per day, 5 days per week — a priority component. ODO also noted an Area of Concern: facility policy has a facility supervisor, not the facility administrator, give the written authorization to deny recreation (the facility never denied recreation during the inspection period).
• Telephone Access (not reviewed in its entirety): no posted consulate list in housing units C, D, F and J, and the list in unit M was dated September 19, 2018.
• Detainee Handbook: the facility-specific handbook did not include information about the facility’s restricted areas — a priority component.

The report’s table of contents also lists findings sections for Staff-Detainee Communication, Special Management Units and Grievance System.

Earlier inspections listed for this facility on ICE’s ODO facility inspections index (checked October 19, 2026):

• February 8–10, 2022
• October 25–27, 2022
• May 2–4, 2023
• October 31 – November 2, 2023
• April 23-25, 2024: ODO conducted an unannounced follow-up compliance inspection.
• Corrective actions documented in the May 2-4, 2023 follow-up: ODO reports two repeat deficiencies: staff strip searched all detainees at intake from October 2022 to February 2023, and non-indigent detainees had to buy additional hygiene supplies through the commissary from October 2022 to April 2023. ODO reports that the facility issued a memorandum on February 27, 2023 directing staff to cease routine strip searches of ICE detainees. ODO also reports that on April 12, 2023 the facility implemented a procedure providing hygiene supplies as needed to all detainees.

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 Iowa
• Other ICE detention facilities in Iowa
• All facilities under the St. Paul Field Office