Richwood Correctional Center

Richwood Correctional Center is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in Monroe, Louisiana. It falls under the New Orleans 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 (318) 998-5800; ICE’s page lists that line between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. (checked October 10, 2026). To leave an urgent message for a detainee, call (318) 325-8409 and give the detainee’s full name, alien registration number (A-number), and your name and 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).

Visiting in person

ICE’s page for this facility (last updated 09/09/2026, checked October 10, 2026) lists friends-and-family visits seven days a week:

• Length: visits may not exceed one hour; extended visits must be approved in advance by the Facility Administrator or a designee.
• ID and children: visitors must present a valid, verifiable government-issued identification card. Minors must be accompanied by an adult guardian (18 or older) and may not be left alone in the waiting room, visiting room or any other area.
• Search and restrictions: ICE’s page says no electronic devices are permitted in the facility. No firearms or weapons of any kind; everyone entering is subject to a pat-down, a search of belongings and a metal scan, and anyone who refuses a reasonable search is not admitted. Visitors who are or appear intoxicated are turned away, nothing may be passed to a detainee, and no items may be carried into the visiting area.
• Parking: ICE lists free public parking on the premises.

Sending mail, commissary funds, and personal items

Letters and packages sent to a detainee must identify the detainee and show the sender’s name and return address (this facility’s own format is below) — and each facility publishes its own exact format: some also require a housing-unit number, and facilities run by the federal Bureau of Prisons use the BOP register number instead. 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 November 2024 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

As of October 10, 2026, ICE’s page for this facility says:

• Letters must include the last four digits of the detainee’s A-number, plus the sender’s name and address. 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.
• Money: ICE lists Correct Solutions by phone at (877) 618-3516 or at RegentPay.com, or a money order sent by U.S. Postal Service to Richwood Correctional Center, 180 Pine Bayou Circle, Monroe, LA 71202, with the detainee’s name referenced on the money order. Funds received in the mail are taken to the processing area to be placed on the account, with a receipt from the processing officer; detainees are cautioned not to have cash sent to them in the mail.
• Packages: limited to items needed solely for travel or release from custody, with the ICE Deportation Officer’s approval. Before sending one, ICE says to contact the facility mail clerk at (318) 325-8409 ext. 100, 180 Pine Bayou Circle, Monroe, LA 71202.
• 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, laptops, radios) are accepted.
• 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.

For how deposit routes differ from facility to facility, see how to send money to someone in ICE detention.

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.

Legal visits, video calls and legal documents

ICE’s page for this facility publishes these channels for legal representatives (checked October 10, 2026):

• G-28s can be submitted through ICE’s online platform ERO eFile. Facility staff do not have access to ERO eFile, so representatives should bring a downloaded copy of the submitted G-28 to any in-person or remote legal visit.
• Video visits and legal calls: for all virtual attorney visitation (VAV) appointments and legal calls beginning September 8, 2026, representatives must schedule through ERO eFile. Appointments run in 30-minute increments from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and can be booked up to two weeks ahead and no later than 24 hours before. For video appointments, facility staff send Zoom information to the representative’s email on file, or place it in the Virtual Meeting Information section, at least 30 minutes before the appointment; for phone appointments, they send the phone number the same way. Representatives are limited to 2 hours of appointments in a single day, and ICE recommends having the client call you if only a quick phone call is needed. The upload must include the representative’s government ID, proof of active legal-representative status (such as a bar card) and the ERO eFiled G-28 (unless the visit is pre-representational); if a legal assistant is the only legal representative joining the call, ICE says a letter of authorization on the firm’s or organization’s letterhead and a scan of the assistant’s identification should also be attached, and appointments without the required attachments may be subject to cancellation. ICE’s VAV flyer for Richwood bars video or audio recording by representatives and their staff. For requests under PBNDS 2011 Section 5.7 (V.N.1) and Section 4.3 (V.FF), the representative must upload the written request in the Attorney Authorization Letter field and the Professional Licensure/Curriculum Vitae in the Medical/Mental Health Evaluators field. Scheduling and applicable rules may change with demand and availability. The facility reserves the right to cancel or reschedule appointments for safety or security risks and to ensure equal access to legal visitation. Only legal representatives, legal assistants and interpreters may take part. If no slot is available or there is an exigent circumstance, ICE lists RichwoodCDPO@lasallecorrections.com or (318) 325-8409.
• Legal documents: ICE lists this channel under Electronic Exchange of Legal Documentation, which says that when timely communication through the mail is not possible, the facility administrator “may, in his discretion, allow for a reasonable amount of electronic written communication” between the detainee and the designated legal representative. Subject to that, representatives can fax legal correspondence to (318) 998-5808 or (318) 998-5810, with a cover letter giving the detainee’s full name, A-number, the sender’s return fax number, the total number of pages, and the notation “Legal Mail”. ICE’s page adds that documents can be emailed during a virtual legal visit through outlook.live.com, but only once the link for that visit has been established.

ICE’s page for this facility, as we read it on October 10, 2026, does not give a case-information email address or a Deportation Officer contact for legal representatives, unlike some other ICE facility pages.

Immigration court and free legal providers (LaSalle Immigration Court)

ICE says a list of pro bono (free) legal organizations, updated quarterly, is posted in the housing units, and that it is the detainee’s own responsibility to contact a provider for an appointment. ICE’s facility page does not name the immigration court that hears the cases of people held here. EOIR’s Immigration Court List – Administrative Control (updated October 1, 2026) lists “Richwood” among the facilities for the LaSalle Immigration Court; EOIR says the courts on that list “may have jurisdiction” over charging documents for people held at the facilities listed. EOIR’s LaSalle Immigration Court page gives the address 830 Pine Hill Road, P.O. Box 2179, Jena, LA 71342 — inside a DHS-controlled detention facility (EOIR points visitors to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center page for entry) — public and window-filing hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday except federal holidays, free parking outside the court, and the general-inquiry email LaSalle.Immigration.Court@usdoj.gov. EOIR adds that cell phones are not allowed inside without approval from GEO facility management. The court that actually hears a given case may still be a different one; confirm it from the A-number through EOIR’s hotline at 1-800-898-7180. On the October 2026 edition of EOIR’s List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers, the entries under LaSalle Immigration Court are:

EOIR states that it does not endorse any of the organizations, referral services, or attorneys on its list.

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 New Orleans 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 (checked October 10, 2026) adds these channels:

• Comments on the service provided, or a misconduct complaint to the field office: Field Office Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 1250 Poydras Street, Suite 325, New Orleans, Louisiana 70113, (504) 599-7800.
• 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 in writing: 245 Murray Drive, Building 410 Stop: 2600, Washington, D.C. 20528 · fax (202) 245-5217 · DHSOIGHOTLINE@DHS.GOV.

A news reporter who wants to interview someone held here must apply in writing to the New Orleans 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.

Death in custody reported by ICE (September 2026). ICE reported that a 47-year-old man from Peru, detained at Richwood Correctional Center since June 29, 2026, died in ICE custody on September 29, 2026 at Ochsner LSU Health Monroe Medical Center in Monroe, Louisiana; ICE said the preliminary cause of death was unknown and an autopsy would determine it (ICE detainee death notification, read October 3, 2026).

ICE inspection record

As of October 10, 2026, the most recent report for this facility on ICE’s ODO facility inspections page covers the inspection of November 5–7, 2024 (ODO report, Inspection 2025-001-035), carried out by ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight (ODO), part of ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility. What the report says:

• Who runs it: the facility opened in 1998 and is owned and operated by LaSalle Corrections. ERO began housing detainees there in 2019, under ERO New Orleans. It operates under the Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) 2011 (Revised 2016) and holds male and female detainees of low, medium-low, medium-high and high security classification for periods longer than 72 hours; ODO noted that during the inspection only women were on site.
• Services: Performance Food provides food services, CorrectMed provides medical care, and Correct Commissary provides commissary. The facility was accredited by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care in June 2022 and was DHS PREA certified after a July 2022 audit.
• Findings: ODO reviewed 25 standards, found the facility compliant with 22, and cited 5 deficiencies in 3 standards: Admission and Release (2: staff did not fingerprint detainees during admission, and did not fingerprint them before release), Food Service (2: the safety lock inside the walk-in freezer was jammed and would not release from the inside), and Detainee Handbook (1: the facility administrator did not provide a copy of the ICE handbook and local supplement to every staff member with detainee contact). None were priority-component or repeat deficiencies.
• Detainee interviews: ODO interviewed 30 detainees (another 20 declined); none alleged discrimination, mistreatment or abuse, and all reported satisfaction with facility services.
• Rating: Superior. At the previous rated inspection, which the report dates to November 2023 (ICE’s inspection index lists October 31–November 2, 2023), ODO reviewed 28 standards and found 27 deficiencies in 7 standards — Admission and Release (1), Correspondence and Other Mail (14), Facility Security and Control (2), Medical Care (4), Post Orders (1), Staff-Detainee Communication (1) and Telephone Access (4) — and rated the facility Acceptable/Adequate.

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

Earlier inspections

• April 26-28, 2022: ODO conducted a follow-up compliance inspection.

• April 25-27, 2023: ODO conducted a follow-up compliance inspection.

• April 30-May 2, 2024: ODO conducted a follow-up compliance inspection.

• Corrective action on November 2, 2023: ODO confirmed, after finding no posted notice in Spanish on call monitoring in four of eight housing units, that the facility posted notices in Spanish on housing-unit telephones about monitored calls and procedures for obtaining unmonitored calls.

• December 14-18, 2020 — compliance inspection: ODO reviewed 20 standards under PBNDS 2011, found compliance with 13, and identified 17 deficiencies in the remaining seven standards. ODO report.

• April 19-22, 2021 — follow-up compliance inspection: ODO reviewed 12 standards under PBNDS 2011, found compliance with 8, and identified nine deficiencies in the remaining four standards. ODO report.

• ODO also noted two instances of immediate corrective action by staff during the April 19-22, 2021 inspection. ODO report.

287(g) agreements in Ouachita Parish

This facility is in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana (per the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder for the address ICE publishes). ICE's 287(g) participating-agencies workbook, dated October 9, 2026, records 3 agreements 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 Louisiana
• Other ICE detention facilities in Louisiana
• All facilities under the New Orleans Field Office