{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","alternate_language":[{"language":"es","url":"https://migrantusa.com/es/detencion-ice/enviar-dinero-a-un-detenido/"}],"as_of":"2026-06-27","attribution":"MigrantUSA Editorial. How to Send Money to Someone in ICE Detention. https://migrantusa.com/ice-detention/send-money-to-a-detainee/","dateModified":"2026-06-27","description":"Money goes into the detainee's commissary account, but each ICE facility sets the deposit method and the money-order payee. Channels, rules, examples.","disclaimer":"General information, not legal advice. MigrantUSA is an independent publisher and is not a law firm. Always verify current details directly with the relevant agency before acting.","faqs":[{"answer":"The money is deposited into the detained person’s account at the facility. Under ICE’s national detention standard on funds and personal property, in many facilities a detainee’s deposited funds go into their commissary or canteen account. There is no single nationwide deposit method — each facility sets its own procedure through its operator and its own payment vendor, so the spine of the process is the same everywhere but the exact channel, vendor, and instructions are facility-specific. Find the facility through the ICE Online Detainee Locator and follow that facility’s published deposit instructions.","question":"How does money reach someone held by ICE?"},{"answer":"Make it payable exactly as your facility’s own instructions say — and confirm before you send, because the payee is not the same everywhere. ICE’s published deposit instructions for Adams County Detention Center in Mississippi say the money order is payable to the detainee, while ICE’s deposit process for Krome Service Processing Center in Florida says the U.S. Postal Service money order must be made out to ICE. A money order made out to the wrong payee can be returned to the sender, so never assume a single universal payee.","question":"Who do I make the money order payable to?"},{"answer":"Under ICE’s funds and personal property standard, deposited funds in the commissary or canteen account are generally used for commissary purchases such as hygiene items, snacks, and writing supplies, and at many facilities for phone calls. The standard also lists access to a detainee’s personal funds to pay for legal services among the things detainees must be able to do, so money in the account can go toward legal costs; at Krome, for example, a detainee uses an Emergency Request form to the housing officer to withdraw funds for legal services.","question":"What can the money in the account be used for?"},{"answer":"No. Across the ICE facility instructions we cite, cash sent in the mail is returned to the sender, and personal checks are generally not accepted. Money orders or cashier’s checks are the standard paper method, and some facilities accept only U.S. Postal Service money orders. Do not enclose letters, cards, photos, or any other items in a money envelope — at Adams County, for example, ICE’s instructions say such items are neither forwarded to the detainee nor returned to the sender.","question":"Can I mail cash to a detainee?"},{"answer":"Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov, searching by the person’s A-number and country of birth, or by name plus country of birth and date of birth. Once you know the facility, follow that facility’s official ICE.gov page for its current deposit instructions, or call the facility directly. Our ICE detention facility directory links each facility page with its contact phone so you can reach the right place.","question":"How do I find which facility holds the person and its exact deposit method?"}],"generated":"2026-06-27","isBasedOn":"https://www.ice.gov/doclib/dro/detention-standards/pdf/funds_and_personal_property.pdf","language":"en","license":"https://migrantusa.com/terms/","name":"How to Send Money to Someone in ICE Detention","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"MigrantUSA","url":"https://migrantusa.com/"},"source_urls":["https://www.ice.gov/doclib/dro/detention-standards/pdf/funds_and_personal_property.pdf","https://www.ice.gov/doclib/detention/ADAMSMS-DepositInstructions.pdf","https://www.ice.gov/doclib/detention/depositProcessKrome.pdf","https://locator.ice.gov"],"type":"topic-guide","url":"https://migrantusa.com/ice-detention/send-money-to-a-detainee/"}