El Valle Detention Facility Overview
El Valle Detention Facility is an ICE detention-facility page target in Raymondville. The facility address used for the Facility Map is 1601 Buffalo Drive, Raymondville, TX 78580. The official ICE page for El Valle was identified, but automated access to the page was denied during research. Because of that access issue, exact public phone numbers, visitor hours, mail formatting, funds procedures, and attorney-visit details were not confirmed from the accessible page.
El Valle should not be treated as the same thing as Willacy County Jail. The county jail handles local arrest, pretrial, county sentence, warrant, and other sheriff-custody matters. Willacy Unit is a TDCJ state prison for sentenced Texas prisoners. El Valle is the immigration or contract detention channel, and immigration custody searches should start with ICE ODLS. A person can have both local criminal history and immigration custody issues, but the records systems are different.
This separation affects every practical question. A sheriff jail may be able to discuss a local booking or bond status, while ICE custody may require an A-Number, country of birth, attorney contact, or immigration case information. A county criminal court docket may explain why a person was arrested in Texas, but it may not show the person's current immigration detention placement or transfer history.
The official ICE El Valle Detention Facility page is the facility-level source that should be checked manually for current rules. The screenshot below captures the page reference used for this build.
Because the ICE page blocked automated access, this page flags unconfirmed items instead of filling gaps with county jail rules.
El Valle Detention Facility Capacity and Population
The best accessible oversight data found for the private or contract detention population is the Texas Commission on Jail Standards Willacy (P) line. TCJS June 2026 population data reports Willacy (P) capacity as 568. The June 1, 2026 row lists 485 people, about 85.4 percent of capacity. Recent 2026 rows were in the 469 to 502 range, based on the accessible TCJS population spreadsheet research.
These figures should be described carefully. The TCJS line is reported as Willacy (P), and it is the accessible state oversight line associated with the private or contract detention population. It is not the Willacy County Jail row, which has a different capacity and population. It is also not the TDCJ Willacy Unit capacity, which comes from the TDCJ unit directory.
How to Look Up a Detainee at El Valle Detention Facility
Use ICE Online Detainee Locator System for immigration detention searches. ODLS is the correct starting point when the person may be in ICE custody at El Valle Detention Facility. It is not a county jail roster, a mugshot gallery, a court docket, or a TDCJ prison profile. If the person is a federal criminal detainee rather than an ICE detainee, BOP or USMS channels may be relevant, but immigration custody should begin with ICE ODLS.
- Open ICE ODLS and choose the A-Number search if you have the person's A-Number and country of birth.
- If you do not have the A-Number, use the biographical search mode and enter the required name and country-of-birth information as accurately as possible.
- Confirm that the result points to ICE custody and check whether El Valle Detention Facility is listed or whether the person has been transferred.
- If ODLS does not return a match, recheck spelling, date information, country of birth, age eligibility, possible release, transfer, or whether the person is in county, TDCJ, or federal criminal custody instead.
Immigration detention records are administratively separate from Willacy County criminal court records. A local arrest may create a sheriff booking record and a court case, while an immigration hold or detention placement can move through a different agency system. To understand the whole situation, you may need the ICE locator for custody, the immigration court or attorney channel for immigration proceedings, and county court records for any Texas criminal case.
ODLS searches are also sensitive to identity details. A hyphenated surname, alternate spelling, missing middle name, transposed birth date, or incorrect country of birth can prevent a match. If the person recently moved from county custody to immigration custody, allow for record lag and check again. If safety, removal, court deadline, or attorney-access issues are urgent, use official ICE and legal channels rather than waiting for a public lookup result to change.
El Valle Detention Facility Address and Contact
The facility address used for this build is 1601 Buffalo Drive, Raymondville, TX 78580. A public phone number was not confirmed from the accessible ICE page during research because automated access was denied. For current phone numbers, visitor processing, attorney access, mail routing, property, and funds questions, manually check the ICE El Valle facility page or use ICE's general detention-contact routing.
Do not substitute the Willacy County Jail phone for El Valle unless you are trying to determine whether the person remains in sheriff custody. The county jail number is useful for local custody, but it is not confirmation of ICE facility rules, immigration detention placement, or detainee services at El Valle. Likewise, the TDCJ Willacy Unit phone is for state-prison custody and should not be used for immigration detention questions.
El Valle Detention Facility
1601 Buffalo Drive
Raymondville, TX 78580
Phone not confirmed
Check ICE's facility page manually for current contact details.
Lookup Channel
ICE Online Detainee Locator System
A-Number plus country of birth, or biographical search plus country of birth
https://locator.ice.gov/odls/
Not a sheriff roster or TDCJ search.
Visiting Someone at El Valle Detention Facility
Visitation hours and rules were not confirmed from the accessible ICE page during research. Do not borrow Willacy County Jail's male and female weekend non-contact schedule for El Valle. Immigration detention visitation may involve facility-specific processing, identification, security screening, visitor limits, attorney rules, consular access, and schedule changes. Confirm every detail with the official ICE facility page or facility contact before traveling.
| Topic | Status | What to Do |
|---|---|---|
| Public visiting hours | Not confirmed from accessible research | Check the ICE El Valle facility page manually. |
| Attorney visits | Not confirmed from accessible research | Use ICE facility-specific instructions before scheduling. |
| County jail schedule | Not applicable | Do not use sheriff jail visitation times for El Valle. |
Mail, Phone, and Money at El Valle Detention Facility
Mail, phone, property, and funds rules were not confirmed from the accessible ICE page. That gap matters because immigration detention facilities often have detailed rules for detainee name format, A-Number, facility address lines, legal mail, personal mail, books, property, commissary, phone accounts, and release of funds. Use ICE's current facility page before sending mail or money, and avoid assuming the county jail's JailATM deposit channel applies here.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| Mail Address | Facility address known, but detainee-mail format not confirmed. Check ICE before mailing. |
| Phone / Video | Provider and call rules not confirmed from accessible research. |
| Money Deposit | Funds procedure and fees not confirmed. Do not use county jail deposit rules. |
Intake and Custody at El Valle Detention Facility
Immigration detention intake is different from local criminal booking. A person may arrive through ICE custody, transfer from another detention facility, a hold following local custody, or another federal immigration process. ODLS can help locate some detainees, but it does not replace legal advice, immigration court information, consular contact, attorney communication, or facility confirmation. A missing ODLS result does not automatically mean the person was never detained.
Willacy County criminal court records and sheriff jail records may still matter if the person was first arrested locally. Those records can show criminal charges, bond, court settings, and dispositions. They do not prove current ICE custody at El Valle. Similarly, an ICE detention result does not provide a complete county criminal docket. Keep each system in its lane: sheriff jail for local custody, court clerks for criminal cases, TDCJ for sentenced Texas prisoners, and ICE ODLS for immigration detention.
Transfers can create confusion. A person may be released from the county jail to another agency, moved to an immigration facility, or transferred away from El Valle after a short stay. When a result changes, record the date and source of each search. That helps separate an outdated jail booking entry from a current immigration detention result and prevents a searcher from treating old custody information as a live location.
About El Valle Detention Facility
El Valle Detention Facility is part of the Raymondville custody landscape that makes Willacy County searches unusually easy to confuse. Within the same local area, a searcher may encounter a sheriff jail, a TDCJ state prison, and an immigration or contract detention facility. The same last name might appear in one system and not another, or a person might move between systems after a court event, transfer, or hold decision.
The research did not confirm El Valle's current public phone number, local visiting hours, attorney-visitation schedule, mail format, or funds rules because automated access to the ICE facility page was denied. That uncertainty is a content fact, not a gap to fill with another facility's policies. The right action is to check ICE ODLS for custody and manually verify facility procedures with ICE before visiting, mailing, or sending funds.
Note: Confirm ICE custody, visiting rules, and mail or funds procedures before traveling to El Valle.