If someone you know is held at a detention facility run by Management and Training Corporation (MTC), the rules for visitation, mail, phone calls, money, and detainee rights come from the federal agency that holds the contract, not from MTC itself. In practice that means U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) standards for immigration detainees and Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) rules for federal inmates. Everything else — whether a letter gets through, whether you are let in the door, whether a bond can be posted today — turns on following those agency rules exactly.
Confirm Where the Person Is Held
Start by figuring out which system holds the person, because the locator tools are separate and searching the wrong one returns nothing.
For immigration arrests, use ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System. You will need the person’s full legal name plus either country of birth or their nine-digit Alien Registration Number (A-Number). The system runs around the clock.1U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Locating Individuals in Detention ICE transfers detainees between facilities, so if a search comes up empty for someone you know was picked up, try again in a day or two.
For federal criminal cases, use the Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. You can search by full name or by BOP Register Number, FBI number, or INS number. The BOP tool only covers federal inmates; it will not find anyone held on state or local charges.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Inmate Locator Information
Write down the registration number as soon as you find it. You will need it on every envelope, every commissary deposit, every phone registration, and every visitor form.
Getting Approved to Visit
Visiting is not a drop-in activity. You need advance approval, a scheduled time, the right ID, and the right clothing. Miss any of those and you will be turned away at the door.
The Approved Visitor List
Before any visit can happen, you have to be on the detainee’s authorized visitor list. That means submitting an application and passing a background check, which can take a week or more. Once approved, bring a valid government-issued photo ID every time: driver’s license, state ID, or passport.
Scheduling and Hours
ICE standards require facilities to allow general visits on at least one weekend day and encourage both Saturday and Sunday. Each visit must last at least 30 minutes under normal conditions, with longer visits encouraged for family who travel a distance.3U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. NDS 5.5 Visitation Most MTC facilities require a reserved time slot booked by phone or online. Arrive at least 30 minutes early for security screening. If you miss your window, you don’t get in.
Dress Code
Dress codes are enforced strictly. Avoid anything sheer, excessively revealing, or that resembles detainee clothing. Shorts and skirts generally need to reach at least mid-thigh. Sleeveless tops, bare midriffs, and anything displaying gang symbols or offensive graphics are prohibited. Shoes are required at all times. Each facility publishes its own rules, so call ahead or check its website before a first visit.
What To Leave in the Car
Leave almost everything behind. Cell phones, purses, wallets, bags, food, drinks, and tobacco products are prohibited in the visitation area. Most facilities allow only your ID and your car key — not the keychain, just the key. Lockers are sometimes available near the entrance, but don’t count on it.
Attorney Visits
Lawyers operate under different rules. ICE facilities must allow attorney visits seven days a week, including holidays, with a minimum of eight hours on business days and four hours on weekends and holidays. Attorneys meet detainees in private consultation rooms where staff may observe through a window but cannot listen. Documents can be inspected for contraband but not read.4U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 2025 National Detention Standards
Mail That Will Actually Be Delivered
Letters that don’t follow formatting and content rules get rejected. Rejected mail is returned or destroyed. It does not get delivered with an apology.
General Correspondence
Every envelope needs the detainee’s full legal name and registration number as the addressee, with your complete return address as the sender. Staff open and inspect all general correspondence for security threats and may read the contents.4U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 2025 National Detention Standards
Do not include staples, paperclips, glitter, perfume, stickers, or anything that could conceal contraband. Photos are usually allowed but cannot show nudity, sexually explicit material, or gang imagery, and most facilities cap how many a detainee can keep. Books, magazines, and newspapers typically must ship directly from a publisher or approved retailer. Packages from family members get rejected.
Legal Mail
Correspondence between a detainee and an attorney gets stronger privacy protection, but only if it is clearly marked. The envelope must show the attorney’s name, title, and office, and be labeled “legal mail” or “special correspondence.” When those requirements are met, staff may open the envelope in the detainee’s presence and inspect for physical contraband, but they cannot read or copy the contents.4U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 2025 National Detention Standards Legal mail that arrives without proper markings is treated as regular correspondence, meaning staff may read it. Attorneys should be meticulous about labeling.
What You Risk by Mailing Contraband
Sending prohibited items to a federal facility is a federal crime. Penalties run up to six months in prison for items that threaten facility order, up to five years for weapons or escape tools, and up to twenty years for certain controlled substances such as methamphetamine or fentanyl.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 1791 – Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison A sentence for smuggling a controlled substance runs consecutively with any other drug sentence, not concurrently. Even well-meant items like herbal supplements or unmarked medications can trigger a contraband investigation.
Phone Calls and Electronic Messages
Detainees can place outgoing calls during designated hours but cannot receive incoming ones. Calls run through a third-party vendor’s prepaid system, either deducted from the detainee’s commissary account or charged to a prepaid account you set up. To receive calls, register your phone number with the facility’s phone vendor in advance.
All calls are subject to monitoring and recording, with one exception: calls to an attorney or legal representative cannot be listened to without a court order. Facilities must post notice at each monitored phone and must provide a way for detainees to make unmonitored legal calls.6U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Telephone Access Detention Standard
Rate Caps
Phone costs have dropped substantially under federal regulation. Beginning April 6, 2026, the FCC caps audio calls from prisons at $0.11 per minute and from large jails at $0.10 per minute. Smaller facilities face slightly higher caps, up to $0.19 per minute for the smallest jails. Video calls are capped between $0.19 and $0.25 per minute depending on facility size.7Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated Peoples Communications Services These caps apply to local, long-distance, and international calls alike, though providers may add a surcharge for international call termination. If you are being charged well above these rates, the facility’s vendor may be out of compliance.
Electronic Messaging
Many MTC-managed facilities now offer electronic messaging through secure tablets or kiosks. These services let you send short written messages, similar to email, and sometimes attach photos for an extra fee. Availability varies, so check with the facility or vendor. Where offered, messaging tends to cost less than phone calls but carries the same monitoring and content restrictions as regular mail.
Sending Money for Commissary
Detainees use a commissary account to buy snacks, toiletries, stationery, and phone credits. Keeping that account funded is one of the most practical things a family member can do. Without money on the books, a detainee may not be able to make phone calls or buy basic hygiene items beyond what the facility issues.
Electronic Deposits
The fastest route is an electronic transfer through the facility’s third-party financial vendor. You need the detainee’s full name and registration number. Credit card, debit card, or bank transfer through the vendor’s website, app, or automated phone line usually posts within 24 hours. Fees vary by vendor and payment method, and daily or weekly deposit limits may apply.
Money Orders
You can also mail a money order to a lockbox address the vendor provides. Make it payable to the detainee and write their registration number on the memo line. This method usually avoids service fees, but processing takes anywhere from one to several weeks. Personal checks are almost always rejected.
Spending Limits
Facilities cap how much a detainee can spend per month at commissary. In the federal prison system, the monthly limit is typically around $360, though it varies by institution and may rise around the holidays. ICE facilities set their own limits under contract. You can deposit more than the cap and the funds stay in the account, but the detainee can only spend up to the weekly or monthly limit.
The Detainee’s Rights Inside
Right to Counsel
Immigration detainees and federal inmates both have the right to legal representation, but with a critical difference: the government does not pay for an immigration attorney. People in removal proceedings can hire counsel at their own expense; the government will not appoint one as it would in a criminal case. The Executive Office for Immigration Review maintains a list of pro bono legal service providers, updated at least quarterly, that must be given to every person placed in removal proceedings.8eCFR. 8 CFR Part 1003 Subpart E – List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers
Law Library Access
ICE facilities must provide access to a law library for at least five hours per week during reasonable daytime hours. Detainees cannot be forced to give up recreation time to use it. A reasonable amount of copying and printing of legal material must be free, and staff may not read any document that is clearly tied to a detainee’s legal proceeding.4U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 2025 National Detention Standards
Federal BOP inmates have similar rights. The warden must make law library materials available during reasonable hours, including evenings and weekends where practical, and must allow inmates to use typewriters or have documents typed by another inmate when preparing legal filings.9eCFR. 28 CFR 543.11 – Legal Research and Preparation of Legal Documents
Medical Care
Every newly admitted ICE detainee must get an initial health screening within 12 hours of arrival and a comprehensive medical, dental, and mental health appraisal within 14 days. Facilities must provide 24-hour emergency care, management of chronic conditions, mental health crisis intervention, and pregnancy-related services including prenatal care. Routine dental treatment becomes available after six months in custody.10U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Medical Care Detention Standard Medical concerns about people in ICE custody can be reported to the ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line at 1-888-351-4024.11Office of Inspector General. Hotline
Bond and Release
Many immigration detainees are eligible for release on bond while their case moves through immigration court. ICE may set a bond when it decides the detainee is not a flight risk or danger. If ICE denies bond or sets it too high, the detainee can ask for a bond hearing before an immigration judge. The request should be in writing and include the detainee’s full name, A-Number, the bond amount set by ICE, and the facility location. There is no filing fee.12Executive Office for Immigration Review. EOIR Policy Manual – 8.3 Bond Proceedings Either side can appeal the judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the judge’s bond decision stays in effect during the appeal.
ICE uses an electronic system called CeBONDS for posting immigration bonds online. U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, law firms, and nonprofits can post a delivery bond or voluntary departure bond. Payment is by Fedwire or ACH bank transfer only; credit cards and cash are not accepted. Bond-posting hours run Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the time zone where the detainee is held. Once approved, verification and payment review typically take one to two hours, and the detainee is usually released by end of day after the bond contract is signed.13U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Post a Bond Anyone posting a delivery bond takes on a real obligation: you must ensure the detainee appears at every hearing and responds to every ICE notice. If the detainee fails to appear, you forfeit the full amount.
When Something Is Wrong
Internal Grievances
Detainees can file internal grievances about facility conditions, staff conduct, or treatment through the facility’s grievance system, usually by written form or tablet. Grievances related to sexual abuse or assault can be filed at any time with no deadline. All other complaints face shorter filing windows, so detainees should act promptly.
For BOP inmates, the administrative remedy process follows a specific chain. The inmate files an initial request on form BP-9 within 20 calendar days of the incident. If unsatisfied with the warden’s response, the inmate appeals to the Regional Director on form BP-10 within 20 days. A final appeal goes to the General Counsel on form BP-11 within 30 days.14eCFR. 28 CFR Part 542 – Administrative Remedy Missing these deadlines can block access to federal court later, so timing matters.
Outside Oversight
For allegations beyond routine grievances, including abuse, neglect, or corruption, anyone can file a complaint with the DHS Office of Inspector General. Reports can be made anonymously through the online complaint form, by calling 1-800-323-8603, or by mail to the DHS OIG Hotline at 245 Murray Lane SW, Washington, DC 20528-0305.11Office of Inspector General. Hotline Family members do not need the detainee’s permission to file. OIG investigates independently of the facility, which matters when the complaint is about the facility itself.