West Tennessee Detention Facility

West Tennessee Detention Facility is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in Mason, Tennessee. 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.

To ask whether someone is held here, and to leave an urgent message for a detainee, ICE publishes one number: (901) 294-3060. 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). ICE lists the detainee-information line as answered between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. ICE also says this facility has tablets; information on sending a non-confidential message is at talton.com or gettingout.com, the vendor sites ICE names.

Visiting in person

CoreCivic’s facility instructions add these visitation requirements (checked October 17, 2026):

• CoreCivic requires visitors to call (901) 294-3060 and press 1 at the prompt to schedule a visitation appointment.
• CoreCivic asks visitors to arrive 15 minutes before the visit for processing.
• CoreCivic prohibits shorts for males and females except for children under twelve (12) years of age in the summer.

CoreCivic’s September 2026 facility instructions list social visitation on Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays, and allow up to three (3) persons, including children, per social visit. These differ from the days and group limits ICE publishes below; the two publishers do not give the same rule. CoreCivic designates visitor parking in the east parking lot.

ICE’s page for this facility (last updated 08/06/2026, checked October 15, 2026) says to call (901) 294-3060 to schedule a visit. Visits are held Thursday through Monday in sessions set by sex and classification level:

• ICE says visiting is also held on federally recognized holidays, in addition to the posted days.
• ICE’s page says all visits will be 1 hour (the 2:25 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. session in the table above is 50 minutes), all family and social visits are non-contact, and each visitor may visit only one detainee per visiting day. Larger groups split the hour.
• Group size: ICE’s page gives two limits: one paragraph allows three adults and two minor children at a time, another allows each detainee 4 visitors at one time in the visitation room. Ask when you call to schedule.
• ID and minors: every visitor 18 or older needs a valid photo ID, such as a state or federal ID, passport or Resident Alien Card. Unaccompanied visitors must be at least 18, and minors must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian and supervised at all times, including in the parking lot.
• All visitors must clear the metal detector and submit to a pat search, and may be required to leave items in a locker or their vehicle. ICE lists free public parking.

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”. 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 ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight inspected this facility in March 2026 under the National Detention Standards (NDS) 2025 instead (inspection report), and we have not reviewed that standard’s mail rules — 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

CoreCivic’s September 2026 facility instructions require detainee correspondence to arrive by U. S. Postal Service and say other courier or delivery services will be refused. The instructions permit individual newspaper or magazine articles or clippings from other publications with a 5 page limit. The same instructions give 6299 Finde Naifeh Dr., Mason, TN 38049 as the mailing address, which differs from the P. O. Box ICE lists below.

CoreCivic’s September 2026 facility instructions also state:

• Written correspondence: no limit on the number of pages.

• Photographs: permitted up to 8"x10", with no limit on the number of photographs.

• Additional routine-mail prohibitions: maps of the city where the facility is located or surrounding communities; Polaroid instant-camera photographs; and photo negatives or slides.

• Letters go to a post office box, not the street address, and must include the last four digits of the detainee’s A-number plus the sender’s name and address:

[Detainee name]
West Tennessee Detention Facility
P. O. Box 23
Mason, TN 38049

• Not accepted by mail: packages, obscene or pornographic material, personal checks, cashier’s checks, postage stamps or stamped envelopes, any type of food, and periodicals not sent directly by the publisher.
• Money: ICE says money is not to be given directly to the detainee. It can be placed on the detainee’s account through Talton (talton.com) or by U.S. Postal Service money order with the detainee’s name on it. ICE’s page lists a trust-account mailing address for money orders in Atlanta, Georgia; confirm the full address with the facility at (901) 294-3060 before mailing; we could not independently verify the ZIP code shown there.
• Release or travel items: call (901) 294-3060 before sending anything; only items needed solely for travel or release are allowed, with the ICE Deportation Officer’s approval.
• Stamps: detainees may buy them; indigent detainees get a postage allowance at government expense. On a transfer or departure only legal mail is forwarded.

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.

Case information, the deportation officer, and G-28s

• Case-information requests go to NewOrleans.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov. ICE notes that this mailbox does not accept applications for a stay of removal or case appeals.
• Finding a client’s Deportation Officer: ICE says to contact the New Orleans Field Office, and that Deportation Officers at the facility can be reached at (901) 294-3060. A G-28 must be on file before any information is disclosed.

Booking video meetings and legal calls

• Legal calls can be scheduled through the main office at (901) 294-3060.
• Video teleconference (VTC) meetings or confidential legal calls can be requested by email to westtnlegalvisitation@corecivic.com (the facility’s court officers email back a confirmed date and time) or by calling (901) 294-3060 for the court room officer who schedules them. The email should give the representative’s contact details, the detainee’s A-number, a few proposed dates and times, a scan of the representative’s government-issued identification, proof of active legal-representative status and the G-28 (unless pre-representational); a legal assistant joining alone also needs a letter of authorization on letterhead and a scan of the assistant’s ID.
• Book at least 24 hours ahead; appointments run 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. in 30- to 60-minute increments, with no more than one 60-minute appointment per representative per detainee per day. Only legal representatives, legal assistants, and interpreters will be allowed; no family or friends of the clients are permitted.
• ICE says legal representatives and their staff may not video or audio record any virtual or in-person visit or call; violations can lead to suspension or permanent revocation of virtual-visit privileges.

Sending legal documents to a detained client

ICE’s page presents this as an exception: when timely communication through the mail is not possible, the facility administrator may, at their discretion, allow a reasonable amount of electronic written communication between a detainee and their designated legal representative. ICE says legal representatives can email legal correspondence to westtnlegalvisitation@corecivic.com, marking the subject line as legal correspondence and attaching the documents with a cover sheet giving the detainee’s full name, A-number, the sender’s return fax number, the total number of pages, and the notation “Legal Mail.” The documents are inspected for contraband but not read. Requests are processed Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays.

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 adds these channels:

• Comments on service, or a misconduct complaint to the field office: Field Office Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 1250 Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA 70113.
• 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.

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

ICE inspection record

ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight (ODO), part of ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, inspected the facility, which its report calls the Western Tennessee Detention Facility, on March 10–12, 2026 (ODO report). ODO says this was its first compliance inspection of the facility. What the report says:

• Who runs it: the facility opened in 1996 and is owned and operated by CoreCivic. ICE began housing detainees there in 1996 under ERO New Orleans. It is a dedicated ICE detention facility operating under the National Detention Standards (NDS) 2025, and it holds male and female detainees of low, medium-low, medium-high and high security classification for periods longer than 72 hours.
• Staffing and services: ERO New Orleans deportation officers are not assigned full time; they make weekly scheduled visits on Mondays and Tuesdays, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. A warden runs daily operations. Trinity Services provides food service, and CoreCivic provides medical care and commissary. The facility was audited under the Department of Justice PREA standards in February 2024 and was DOJ PREA certified.
• Findings: compliant with 20 of 24 standards; 6 deficiencies in 4 standards, 2 of them priority components:

• Detainee interviews: ODO interviewed 32 detainees; none alleged discrimination, mistreatment or abuse. Several were not satisfied with the food; ODO found a registered dietitian had certified the menu as meeting USDA recommended dietary allowances.
• Rating: Good. Because this was ODO’s first inspection, there is no earlier rating to compare.

287(g) agreements in Tipton County

This facility is in Tipton County, Tennessee (per the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder for the address ICE publishes). ICE's 287(g) participating-agencies workbook, dated October 9, 2026, records 1 agreement 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 Tennessee
• Other ICE detention facilities in Tennessee
• All facilities under the New Orleans Field Office