LaSalle Co Detention is for US Immigration & Customs Enforcement-ICE offenders have not been sentenced yet and are detained here until their case is heard.
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If you are unsure of your inmate's location, you can search and locate your inmate by typing in their last name, first name or first initial, and/or the offender ID number to get their accurate information immediately Registered Offenders
The LaSalle County Regional Detention Center (ICE) is a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility located at 832 East Texas Hwy 44 in Encinal, TX in LaSalle County. This medium-security facility is operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and functions as a holding center for immigration detainees awaiting trial, deportation, or serving sentences following conviction.
To find an ICE inmate, please use the Detainee Locator System with the A-Number search being the most efficient method. The A-number must be exactly nine digits; if shorter, zeros should be added at the beginning. When searching by name, the first and last names must be entered as an exact match, and the detainee's correct country of birth must be selected. Please note that records of individuals under 18 cannot be searched.
Detainees at this facility are assigned to housing based on their custody level, determined by various factors including sentence length and criminal history. The detention center provides a wide range of educational and vocational training programs. Additionally, the facility is equipped to meet most detainee needs, including dietary, health, fitness, education, religious practices, and entertainment. As a privately operated facility, it undergoes frequent inspections to ensure it remains in top condition, maintaining a clean record to secure ongoing government contracts.
The La Salle County Regional Detention Center in Encinal, Texas, operates as a major federal immigration detention facility that houses ICE detainees under contract with the Department of Homeland Security. Located along the heavily traveled Interstate 35 corridor between Laredo and San Antonio, the facility occupies a strategically important position within South Texas immigration enforcement operations. The detention center is operated by LaSalle Corrections, a private corrections company headquartered in Louisiana that manages multiple detention facilities across the southern United States. Unlike county jails overseen by elected sheriffs, the Encinal facility functions primarily through federal detention agreements tied directly to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies. The detention center has become one of the more active immigration detention hubs in Texas due to its location near the southern border and major detainee transportation routes.
The facility maintains an estimated detention capacity of approximately 1,000 detainees, although population levels fluctuate significantly depending on federal immigration enforcement priorities and national detention surges. Federal detention data released during 2025 showed many privately operated ICE detention facilities exceeding contractual populations, with LaSalle-operated centers among those experiencing substantial overcrowding pressures. The Encinal detention center primarily houses adult male detainees awaiting immigration court hearings, asylum proceedings, deportation actions, or transfers to other ICE facilities nationwide. Detainees housed at the facility originate from Border Patrol apprehensions, interior immigration enforcement actions, airport detentions, and interstate transfers coordinated through ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division. The detention center’s large-scale capacity allows federal authorities to process and hold significant numbers of immigration detainees within the South Texas detention network.
One of the distinguishing features of the La Salle County Regional Detention Center is its operational focus on long-term federal detention rather than short-term county incarceration. The complex includes secure housing units, medical care facilities, transportation staging areas, intake and classification sections, visitation infrastructure, and legal access accommodations designed specifically for immigration detention operations. The detention center works closely with ICE transportation contractors, immigration courts, and federal agencies handling detainee processing throughout Texas. Because Encinal sits within a remote stretch of South Texas ranchland, detainees are often housed far from legal representatives and family members, a characteristic that has generated ongoing debate among immigration advocacy organizations and attorneys representing detainees in removal proceedings.
ICE Detainee Information
This facility holds immigration detainees under an active contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in addition to its regular population. ICE detainees are civil immigration detainees, not criminal defendants, and are held while their immigration cases are processed. The rules, rights, and services that apply to ICE detainees differ from those that apply to the general jail population.
To locate an ICE detainee at this facility, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov. You will need the detainee's A-Number, a nine-digit Alien Registration Number that appears on any immigration document they have received. If the A-Number has fewer than nine digits, add zeros at the beginning. If you do not have the A-Number, you can search using the detainee's full legal name, country of birth, and date of birth. Names must be an exact match; try variations if the first search returns no results.
Immigration bond works differently from criminal bail. Not all detainees are eligible for bond; those with certain criminal convictions or prior deportation orders may be subject to mandatory detention. For those who are eligible, bond is set by an immigration judge and typically ranges from $1,500 to over $10,000. Bond must be paid in full before release. An immigration attorney can request a bond hearing and argue for a lower amount based on the detainee's circumstances.
Unlike criminal defendants, ICE detainees do not have the right to a government-appointed attorney. They must hire a private immigration attorney or find free legal help through a nonprofit organization. RAICES provides legal services and bond assistance at raicestexas.org. The National Immigrant Justice Center offers free legal representation at immigrantjustice.org. Many immigration courts also maintain a list of free and low-cost legal service providers available to detainees upon request.
ICE transfers detainees between facilities frequently and with little advance notice, sometimes to locations far from family and legal counsel. If you cannot locate your family member through this page, search the ICE Online Detainee Locator again at locator.ice.gov with their A-Number. If they have an attorney, notify the attorney immediately as transfers affect court appearances and case timelines.
The facility also reflects the broader expansion of privately operated immigration detention centers throughout Texas and the southern United States. LaSalle Corrections has steadily increased its footprint within federal detention contracting over the past two decades, operating facilities tied to ICE, U.S. Marshals Service, and state correctional agreements. Facilities like Encinal have become financially significant for private detention operators because federal immigration detention contracts often provide stable long-term occupancy and reimbursement structures. At the same time, immigration detention centers operated by private contractors have faced periodic scrutiny over detainee conditions, healthcare access, staffing levels, disciplinary practices, and overcrowding concerns during periods of intensified federal immigration enforcement. Reports from oversight organizations and federal monitoring groups have frequently highlighted operational pressures associated with rapidly increasing detainee populations across South Texas detention centers.
Operationally, the La Salle County Regional Detention Center functions more like a federally integrated processing complex than a traditional rural jail. Staff members coordinate around-the-clock intake screening, detainee transportation, medical evaluations, housing assignments, attorney visitation, immigration paperwork processing, commissary services, and security operations under ICE detention standards. The detention center also serves as an important transfer point within the national immigration detention system, with detainees regularly arriving from or departing to facilities across multiple states. Its location, scale, and federal detention role have made the Encinal facility one of the more prominent privately operated ICE detention centers in Texas, particularly as immigration detention capacity continues expanding throughout the region.
