Woodbury County Jail

Woodbury County Jail is an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facility located in Sioux City, 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, and to leave an urgent message for a detainee, ICE publishes one number: (712) 279-6040. ICE says a caller leaving an urgent message gives the detainee’s full name, alien registration number (A-number), and the caller’s own name and a phone number where they can be reached, and that the detainee will be given the message. ICE’s sidebar labels (218) 822-7050 as the facility main phone (the same number ICE lists for Crow Wing County Jail in Brainerd, Minnesota), but ICE’s own instructions for detainee information, urgent messages, scheduling visits and legal video or phone calls (extension 5013) all use (712) 279-6040 (checked October 15, 2026). Detainees cannot receive incoming calls — they place outgoing calls themselves. ICE asks callers to have the person’s biographical information ready (first, last and hyphenated names, any aliases, date of birth, and country of birth). ICE says (712) 279-6040 can be called 24 hours a day and 7 days a week (checked October 19, 2026).

Visiting in person

What ICE’s page for this facility says (checked October 19, 2026):

• Scheduling: ICE says visits are scheduled by calling (712) 279-6040.
• Visit time: each detainee receives two (2) 20-minute or one (1) 40-minute slots of visitation time per week, and all family or other social visits are non-contact.
• ID and minors: ICE says visitors will have a government-issued photo identification with them, and persons under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
• Search: everyone requesting admittance is subject to a pat-down search, an inspection of belongings and a metal scan; no firearms or weapons, and no electronic devices (cell phones, pagers, radios, etc.) in the secure areas.
• Clergy may visit at any time but must make prior arrangements with the Chaplain’s Office; consular officials may meet their detained nationals at any time, and ICE requests prior arrangements with the ICE Supervisory Deportation Officer at (712) 279-6040 ext. 5013 to the extent possible.
• Parking: ICE says free public parking is available at the facility.

What the Woodbury County Sheriff’s jail page says (checked October 19, 2026):

• Video visitation hours: Monday–Friday, 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. (check-in 9:45 a.m.–10:25 a.m.) and 12:30 p.m.–3:15 p.m. (check-in 12:00 p.m.–2:40 p.m.), with check-in at Jail Administration during those check-in times. The county says there is no visitation on holidays.
• Visitors with a recent arrest: the county says a person arrested for a serious or aggravated misdemeanor may not visit for 90 days, and a person arrested for a felony may not visit for 1 year; after a simple-misdemeanor arrest, the person may visit the following day.
• Jail administration hours: 8:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Sending mail, commissary funds, and personal items

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 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 June 2025 under the Federal Performance-Based Detention Standards (FPBDS, May 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 and the county publish for mail, money, property and phones (checked October 19, 2026)

The two publishers conflict on where mail goes. ICE’s page gives the jail’s street address, 3701 28th Street, Sioux City, as the mailing address. The Woodbury County Sheriff’s jail page (checked October 19, 2026) says all inmate mail goes to a processing center at PO Box 591, Longview, Texas, and that inmate mail sent to any other PO Box or address is sent back to the sender. Each page’s own wording:

• ICE’s page: mail should be addressed as “Detainee Name (last 4 of A#), 3701 28th Street, Sioux City, Iowa 51101.” ICE says the jail will not accept packages, obscene or pornographic materials, personal checks, cashier’s checks, postage stamps or stamped envelopes, any type of food, or periodicals not sent directly from the publisher.
• The Woodbury County Sheriff’s jail page (checked October 19, 2026): all inmate mail goes to PO Box 591, Longview, Texas 75606 for processing; once the mail is processed and received electronically by the inmate, it is destroyed, including pictures, and the county says items sent there will not be returned or reimbursed. The county says mail sent to any other PO Box or address is sent back to the sender, and mail received without a return name or address is destroyed.
• Legal mail (county page): legal mail is accepted only from a verified attorney, addressed to the inmate’s name, Woodbury County Jail, PO Box 3083, Sioux City, IA 51102, and marked as legal mail; mail from an unverified source is returned to sender.
• Money: ICE’s page says money is not to be given directly to the detainee and can be deposited through Inmate Canteen or sent by money order via the U.S. Postal Service with the detainee’s name on it. The county page says money is no longer accepted at Jail Administration: deposits are made through the ATM in the Law Enforcement Center (LEC) vestibule, available 24/7, or online through Inmate Canteen.
• Property and books (county page): personal property is no longer accepted; property is bought through the Inmate Commissary Account System. Soft-covered bibles are accepted Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–3:15 p.m. Wednesday is book day: new, soft-covered books with a receipt are accepted on Wednesday only, up to two (2) books, with ID at the Jail Administration window.
• Phones and messages: the county says all calls are routed through NCIC and are collect, and accounts are set up by calling NCIC at 1-800-943-2189. ICE says the facility has tablets, with information on non-confidential messages at www.NCIC.com.

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 calls

Per this facility’s ICE page (checked October 19, 2026):

• Attorney visits: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but preferably between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
• Video teleconference (VTC) and legal calls: requested by phone at (712) 279-6040 ext. 5013. ICE says appointments should be made 24 hours before the desired time and are scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; ICE’s page says “there is no limit on the number of VTC appointments requested,” but that no legal representative is permitted more than one 60-minute appointment with a detainee in a single day. Only legal representatives, legal assistants and interpreters are allowed; an officer stands outside the confidential room and knocks 5 minutes before the cut-off time.
• No recording: ICE says legal representatives and their staff are not permitted to video or audio record during any virtual or in-person visit or call; violations may result in suspension or permanent revocation of VAV user privileges.
• Deportation Officer: ICE says to learn a client’s Deportation Officer, representatives contact the Omaha Field Office at (402) 536-4861; a G-28 must be on file for any information to be disclosed.
• Case information: requests go to StPaul.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov, which does not accept applications for Stay of Removal or Case Appeals. G-28s can be filed through ERO eFile; facility staff do not have access to it.

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 19, 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 St. Paul Field Office, 1 Federal Dr. Ste 1601, Ft. Snelling, MN 55111.
• ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (by mail): Director, Office of Professional Responsibility, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, P.O. Box 14475, Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. 20044.
• Joint Intake Center: 1-877-2INTAKE or joint.intake@dhs.gov.

ICE inspection record

ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight (ODO) inspected Woodbury County Jail through an ODO-assisted self-inspection (OASIP) from May 28 to June 26, 2025, with a one-day site visit on June 26, 2025 (ODO report, Inspection 2025-006-047). It was ODO’s first inspection of the jail and the most recent report for it on ICE’s ODO facility inspections page when we checked on October 15, 2026. What the report says:

• Who runs it: the report says the facility opened in 2024, is owned by the Law Enforcement Authority and is operated by the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; ERO began housing detainees at the jail in 1992 under ERO Saint Paul. It is a U.S. Marshals Service contracted facility where ICE is an authorized user, operating under the USMS Federal Performance Based Detention Standards (FPBDS, May 2025), and it holds male and female detainees of low through high security classification for periods longer than 72 hours.
• Services: Summit Food Services provides food and commissary, and the Sheriff’s Office provides medical care. The jail holds no outside accreditations and was certified under the Department of Justice PREA standards after a January 2020 audit.
• Findings: compliant with 20 of 21 standards; 1 deficiency: staff did not provide male detainees with underwear, and detainees of either sex were not given socks on arrival. ODO interviewed seven detainees; none alleged discrimination, mistreatment or abuse, and all reported satisfaction with facility services.
• Rating: Superior.

ODO redacts bed-capacity and population counts in the published report; for population, see the ICE statistics box above. Woodbury County’s own jail page says the new Law Enforcement Center and Jail were completed in 2024 and that the facility currently has a capacity of 498 inmates, housing pre-trial and sentenced individuals as well as federal prisoners through a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service (checked October 19, 2026).

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